Greg Graves
About Greg Graves
Greg Graves, age 64, is an independent director of Laird Superfood (LSF) who has served on the Board since 2018; he is CFO of Entegris, Inc. (since April 2007) with prior experience in investment banking and corporate development at Piper Jaffray, RBC (Dain Rauscher) and The Pillsbury Company . He holds a B.A. and master’s in accounting and taxation from the University of Alabama and an MBA from the University of Virginia, and is designated by LSF’s Board as an “audit committee financial expert” under SEC/NYSE rules .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entegris, Inc. | Chief Financial Officer | Apr 2007 – Present | Senior VP, Strategic Planning & Business Development previously |
| Piper Jaffray; RBC (Dain Rauscher); The Pillsbury Company | Investment banking and corporate development roles | Prior to Sep 2002 | Corporate finance and development experience |
| Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG) | Director; Chair, Audit Committee | May 2017 – Jun 2019 | Chaired audit committee |
| Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation | Director; Chair, Audit & Finance Committee | Director since May 2016; Chair since Apr 2019 | Audit and finance oversight |
External Roles
| Company/Organization | Public/Private/Non-profit | Role | Committees/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Axcelis Technologies | Public | Director | Public company board experience |
| SkyWater Technology | Public | Director | Member, Audit Committee |
| Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation | Non-profit | Director; Chair, Audit & Finance Committee | Governance/finance leadership |
Board Governance
- Committee assignments (2024): Chair, Audit Committee; Member, Compensation Committee; Member, Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee .
- Financial expert: Board determined Graves qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” under SEC/NYSE rules .
- Independence: Classified as independent; only CEO (Jason Vieth) and Chief Innovator (Laird Hamilton) are non-independent .
- Attendance and engagement: Each director attended at least 75% of Board/committee meetings in 2024; meeting counts—Board: 11; Audit: 4; Compensation: 4; Nominating & Governance: 3 .
- Board leadership: Independent Chair (Geoffrey T. Barker); roles of Chair and CEO are separated; independent director executive sessions held at least twice annually .
- Policies: Anti-hedging policy; anti-pledging policy prohibits pledging without Audit Committee pre-approval; Compensation Recoupment Policy aligned with SEC/NYSE rules .
- Auditor oversight signal: As Audit Chair, Graves oversaw transition from Moss Adams to KPMG on Mar 10, 2025; Company disclosed no disagreements or reportable events with former auditor .
Fixed Compensation
-
Non-Employee Director Compensation Plan (structure):
- Base annual cash retainer: $45,000; Chair of Board additional $25,000; Committee membership retainers—Audit: $7,000 (chair: $14,000), Compensation: $5,000 (chair: $10,000), Nominating & Governance: $4,000 (chair: $8,000). No meeting fees. Annual equity award (options and/or RSUs) vests after one year; director may elect options, RSUs, or 50/50 split .
-
2024 Director Compensation (Greg Graves): | Metric | Amount (USD) | |---|---| | Cash Fees Earned/Paid | $66,000 | | Stock Awards (grant-date fair value) | $95,800 | | Total | $161,800 |
Performance Compensation
- Equity award structure for directors: Annual equity awards under the 2020 Omnibus Incentive Plan; vest after one year; director may choose options, RSUs, or 50/50 split .
- Outstanding equity at FY-end 2024 (Graves): | Instrument | Quantity | |---|---| | Options Outstanding | 4,647 | | RSUs Outstanding | 20,000 |
No director performance-vesting metrics are disclosed for non-employee directors; awards are time-based (one-year vesting) .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Sector | Role | Potential Interlock/Conflict Noted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Axcelis Technologies | Semiconductors | Director | None disclosed with LSF |
| SkyWater Technology | Semiconductors | Director; Audit Committee member | None disclosed with LSF |
| Plug Power (through 2019) | Energy solutions | Former Director; Audit Chair | None current; historical |
- Related-party transactions: The only related-party transaction disclosed involved an influencer agreement with Gabrielle Reece (spouse of Laird Hamilton). No transactions involving Greg Graves were disclosed .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Financial reporting and accounting expertise; significant enterprise risk management experience; extensive public company management experience (Entegris CFO) .
- Audit committee financial expert designation (SEC/NYSE) .
Equity Ownership
| Beneficial Ownership Detail (as of May 15, 2025) | Shares | % of Class |
|---|---|---|
| Outstanding Shares Beneficially Owned (direct/indirect) | 58,865 | |
| Shares Exercisable Within 60 Days | 24,647 | |
| Total Beneficial Ownership | 83,512 | <1% |
- Pledging/hedging: Company policy prohibits hedging and prohibits pledging without Audit Committee pre-approval; no pledging disclosures specific to Graves were provided .
Governance Assessment
- Strengths: Independent director with deep CFO experience and capital markets acumen; serves as Audit Chair and designated audit committee financial expert—supports robust financial oversight and risk management . The Board maintains separated Chair/CEO roles and conducts independent executive sessions; anti-hedging/pledging and recoupment policies align with governance best practices .
- Alignment: Director pay mix includes meaningful equity (annual RSU/option award) alongside cash retainer; Graves held RSUs and options at year-end and beneficially owned 83,512 shares as of May 15, 2025 (<1% of shares outstanding) .
- Watch items: Auditor change in 2025 appears orderly with no disagreements/reportable events, but remains a standard monitoring point for Audit Chairs; continue to track any future related-party transactions (none disclosed for Graves) .
No director stock ownership guidelines were disclosed in the proxy, and say-on-pay voting results were not provided; items omitted due to lack of disclosure .