Latriece Watkins
Live Nation EntertainmentAbout Latriece Watkins
Independent director of Live Nation Entertainment (LYV) since 2021; age 50. Executive Vice President and Chief Merchandising Officer for Walmart U.S., with prior leadership roles in consumables, merchandising, human resources, store operations, and real estate; BA in political science (Spelman College) and JD (University of Arkansas School of Law) . The board classifies Watkins as independent under NYSE-aligned guidelines .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walmart U.S. | EVP & Chief Merchandising Officer | Not disclosed | Leads merchandising strategy and execution nationwide; prior EVP Consumables; drove enterprise culture change initiatives |
| Walmart (enterprise team) | Culture change leader appointed by CEO | Not disclosed | Led transformation work; chaired African American Resource Group for two terms; leads criminal justice Shared Value Network team |
| Walmart (earlier career) | Merchandising, HR, Store Operations, Real Estate | Not disclosed | Broad operating and people leadership; real estate disposition and development focus |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thaden School (Bentonville, AR) | Board Member | Not disclosed | Independent school; community engagement |
| Mercy Health Foundation of Northwest Arkansas | Board Member | Not disclosed | Health system philanthropy |
| American Heart Association; Susan G. Komen; Big Brothers Big Sisters; Boys and Girls Club; Winthrop Rockefeller Institute | Community work | Not disclosed | Various local/regional chapters |
Board Governance
- Independence: Board determined Watkins is independent; overall, 10 of 11 director nominees are independent .
- Committees: Member, Compensation Committee (chair: Chad Hollingsworth). Other members: Jimmy Iovine, Randall Mays. All members independent; scope includes executive pay, equity plans, risk in compensation, culture/human capital (DEI), and clawback oversight .
- Board meetings and attendance: Board met 4 times in 2024; all incumbent directors attended at least 75% of aggregate board/committee meetings during their service; 9 of 11 directors attended the 2024 annual meeting. Non-executive chairman (Randall Mays) presides over executive sessions of non-management directors .
- Stock ownership guidelines: Directors must own, or acquire within three years of first becoming a director, equity worth at least five times the annual cash retainer, currently a minimum value of $500,000 .
Fixed Compensation
- Program terms for non-employee directors:
- Annual cash retainer: $100,000
- Committee retainers: Audit $21,000; Compensation $15,000; Nominating & Governance $10,000
- Committee chair adders: Audit $18,000; Compensation $15,000; Nominating & Governance $10,000
- Non-executive Chair adders: $60,000 cash or restricted stock; annual equity: $200,000 restricted stock for all directors; Chair receives additional $120,000 restricted stock; no per-meeting fees .
| Component (2024) | Amount ($) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fees Earned or Paid in Cash | 115,000 | Base plus committee membership (Compensation) |
| Stock Awards (grant-date fair value) | 188,362 | Restricted stock, ASC 718 valuation; vests on first anniversary |
| Total | 303,362 | Sum of cash and stock awards |
Performance Compensation
| Item | Terms |
|---|---|
| Equity award type (directors) | Restricted stock; annual grant sized at $200,000 under plan |
| Vesting | Time-based; awards vest in full on the first anniversary of grant (or on-cycle anniversary for off-cycle grants) |
| Performance metrics for director pay | None disclosed; director equity grants are time-based (no disclosed financial or TSR targets) |
| Clawback policy | Company maintains Dodd-Frank compliant clawback for executive incentive-based compensation; Compensation Committee oversees policy. Not specified for director equity |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Category | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Current public company boards | None disclosed for Watkins in LYV proxy |
| Committee roles at other public companies | Not disclosed |
| Interlocks / related parties | Compensation Committee states no member (including Watkins) had relationships requiring Item 404 disclosure in 2024; no officer/employee status among members |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Deep retail and merchandising leadership (Walmart U.S.), spanning merchandising, HR, operations, and real estate; enterprise culture-change leadership; DEI champion .
- Education: BA, Spelman College; JD, University of Arkansas School of Law .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Common Stock | Exercisable Options | Restricted Stock Unvested | Other | Total | Ownership % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latriece Watkins | 5,285 | — | 2,115 | — | 7,400 | <1% (*) |
- Stock ownership guidelines: minimum $500,000 market value within three years of becoming a director; compliance status for Watkins not disclosed .
Governance Assessment
- Committee assignments/engagement: Active member of Compensation Committee overseeing executive pay, DEI/human capital strategy, and clawback policy—areas central to investor alignment and risk oversight . The committee engaged with investors around 2024’s 62.7% say-on-pay support and implemented 2025 changes: no cash bonuses without performance requirements, require 20–30 consecutive-day stock price attainment for performance share vesting, and prohibit identical metrics across STI/LTI—indicative of responsiveness to shareholder concerns .
- Independence and attendance: Independent status under NYSE-aligned standards; board-wide attendance thresholds met and regular executive sessions under non-executive chair—supports effective oversight culture .
- Compensation and alignment: Director pay structure is standard—cash retainer plus time-based restricted stock; no options or meeting fees—limits pay risk-taking by directors while providing equity linkage . Watkins’ beneficial ownership is modest by share count; director ownership guidelines require $500k within three years, but compliance status is not disclosed—monitor for alignment visibility .
- Conflicts/related party exposure: No Item 404 related-party transactions for Compensation Committee members (includes Watkins). Broader company related-party disclosures (Liberty Media) do not implicate Watkins—low direct conflict risk from disclosed relationships -.
- Signals for investors: Participation on the Compensation Committee that proactively tightened pay practices following tepid say-on-pay results is a positive governance signal. Absence of public company directorships reduces interlock risk; robust board policies on hedging/pledging and ownership further support alignment, though individual guideline compliance is not disclosed .
RED FLAGS: None disclosed specific to Watkins (no Item 404 related-party transactions; independence confirmed; attendance thresholds met) . Potential data gap on ownership guideline compliance (company discloses guideline but not individual compliance) .