Oswald Gayle
About Oswald Gayle
Oswald Gayle is Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Innovative Eyewear, Inc. (LUCY). He was appointed Co-CFO on October 11, 2024 and became sole CFO effective November 1, 2025; no compensation changes accompanied the title change . Gayle has 30+ years in finance and accounting, beginning with PricewaterhouseCoopers; he joined Innovative Eyewear as VP Finance in January 2022, was promoted to SVP Finance in August 2024, and holds a bachelor’s in accounting and finance (University of London), is a Chartered Global Management Accountant, and AICPA member . Company operating performance in 2024 showed net revenue growth of ~42% year over year to $1.64M and an improvement in gross profit to $215k (13% margin), while net loss expanded to $7.77M, underscoring early-stage scaling dynamics .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vaco Resources (Miami, FL) | Executive Financial Consultant | Sep 2018–Jan 2022 | Executed corporate finance, SEC reporting, investor relations, and business development mandates in manufacturing and retail verticals |
| PricewaterhouseCoopers | Early career in finance/accounting | Not disclosed | Foundation in audit/accounting; contributed to subsequent senior/executive finance roles |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| None disclosed | — | — | No external public-company directorships or committee roles disclosed for Gayle |
Fixed Compensation
| Metric | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Base Salary ($) | $140,731 | $143,923 |
| Bonus ($) | $0 | $0 |
| Nonequity Incentive Plan Compensation ($) | $0 | $0 |
| All Other Compensation ($) | $5,832 | $8,089 |
| Total ($) | $248,220 | $349,976 |
Performance Compensation
Equity Awards – RSUs
| Grant Date | Units Granted | Grant-Date Fair Value ($) | Unvested Units at 12/31/2024 | Market Value of Unvested ($) | Vesting Detail |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 13, 2024 | 32,400 | $197,964 | 32,400 | $159,408 | 5,400 units vest within 60 days of June 30, 2025 |
Notes:
- No performance share unit (PSU) structure or performance metric weighting/targets disclosed; RSUs appear time-based .
Equity Awards – Options
| Grant Date | Total Options | Exercise Price | Expiration | Exercisable (12/31/2024) | Unexercisable (12/31/2024) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 13, 2023 | 4,500 | $25.50 | Jan 13, 2028 | 3,000 | 1,500 |
| Dec 18, 2023 | 2,500 | $9.00 | Dec 18, 2028 | 1,666 | 834 |
Option Award Valuation (Summary Comp Table)
- 2023 Option Awards: $101,657
- 2024 Option Awards: $0 (no new option grant expensed)
Annual/Cash Incentives
- No nonequity incentive plan payouts for 2023 or 2024; no disclosed performance metrics (revenue, EBITDA, TSR) tied to cash incentives .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item (as of June 30, 2025 unless stated) | Detail |
|---|---|
| Beneficial Ownership (shares) | 11,566 |
| Ownership % of 4,574,602 shares outstanding | <1% |
| Components of Beneficial Ownership | 6,166 shares via options exercisable within 60 days + 5,400 RSUs vesting within 60 days after June 30, 2025 |
| Outstanding Unvested RSUs (12/31/2024) | 32,400 units; $159,408 market value |
| Options (status at 12/31/2024) | 4,666 exercisable; 2,334 unexercisable across 2023 grants |
| Pledging/Hedging | Not disclosed |
| Stock Ownership Guidelines | Not disclosed |
Employment Terms
- Appointment timeline: VP Finance (Jan 1, 2022) → SVP Finance (Aug 2024) → Co-CFO (Oct 11, 2024) → CFO (Nov 1, 2025) .
- Title change in Nov 2025 approved by the Board; no compensation changes for Gayle .
- No specific employment agreement terms, severance multiples, change-of-control triggers, clawback policy, or ownership guideline compliance disclosed for Gayle .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Beneficial ownership is minimal (<1%), largely from near-term exercisable options and RSUs; while RSUs (32,400 unvested) provide retention incentives, low direct ownership may temper alignment with long-term shareholders .
- Vesting/Selling Pressure: 5,400 RSUs vest within 60 days after June 30, 2025; monitor potential incremental supply from vesting and any Form 4 activity around vest dates .
- Pay-for-Performance: No disclosed cash incentive metrics or payouts in 2023–2024; equity compensation (RSUs/options) dominated 2024 total comp, suggesting emphasis on equity over cash but without explicit performance hurdles (PSUs) .
- Execution Risk: Company delivered 42% revenue growth and improved gross margin in 2024, yet net loss widened to $7.77M; Gayle’s finance leadership occurs amid scaling and capital needs, elevating execution and financing risk factors for stakeholders .