Chris Herbold
Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Accounting Officer at PLAINS ALL AMERICAN PIPELINE
Executive
About Chris Herbold
Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Accounting Officer (Principal Accounting Officer) of Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (PAA); age 52, serving as CAO since August 2018 and elevated to SVP Finance & CAO in August 2021, with seven years prior at Arthur Andersen LLP . He signs PAA’s periodic reports as Principal Accounting Officer (e.g., Q1, Q2, Q3 2025 10-Qs) . Company performance context under his finance/accounting remit: 2024 Adjusted EBITDA attributable to PAA was $2.78B (~4% above guidance), DCF per common unit and equivalent (CUE) was $2.49 (~2% above guidance), and PAA delivered ~21% total unitholder return in 2024 .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. | SVP, Finance & Chief Accounting Officer | Aug 2021–present | Leads finance/accounting; Principal Accounting Officer (signs 10‑Qs/10‑K) |
| Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. | SVP & Chief Accounting Officer | Aug 2018–Aug 2021 | Enterprise accounting leadership |
| Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. | VP, Accounting & Chief Accounting Officer | Aug 2010–Aug 2018 | Accounting policy, reporting controls |
| Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. | Controller | 2008–Aug 2010 | Oversight of controllership |
| Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. | Director, Operational Accounting | 2006–2008 | Operations accounting |
| Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. | Director, Financial Reporting & Accounting | 2003–2006 | External reporting |
| Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. | Manager, SEC & Financial Reporting | 2002–2003 | SEC reporting |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arthur Andersen LLP | Audit/Accounting professional | ~1995–2002 (7 years) | Public accounting experience prior to joining PAA |
Fixed Compensation
Not disclosed (Herbold is not a Named Executive Officer in the proxy; NEO cash compensation tables exclude him) .
Performance Compensation
PAA executive incentive design (applies to officers; NEO program shown):
| Metric | Weight | 2024 Target | 2024 Result | Payout % | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adjusted EBITDA attributable to PAA ($MM) | 40% | 2,675 | 2,779 | 152% | Linear payout 92.5–110% of target; formulaic framework |
| DCF per CUE ($/unit) | 40% | 2.44 | 2.49 | 127% | Linear payout; company exceeded target |
| Safety (TRIR) | 10% | 0.25 | 0.25 | 75% | Committee applied −25 bps due to fatalities |
| Environmental (FRR) | 10% | 15 | 19 | 89% | +25 bps due to lower release volumes vs 5‑yr avg |
Long‑term equity incentives (phantom units; no stock options):
- Mix: 50% time‑based and 50% performance‑based; three‑year performance period; DERs accrue and pay as specified .
- 2024 grants performance metrics and targets: Relative TSR (peer group) with negative TSR modifier (50%), and cumulative DCF per CUE target of $7.75 over three years with leverage modifier (50%); payout range 0–200%; vests on August 2027 distribution date .
- PAA does not use stock options in its LTIP program; awards are phantom units with DERs .
Multi‑year company performance linkage:
| Metric | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Company TSR ($ value of $100 investment) | 49.18 | 60.08 | 81.51 | 113.53 | 137.87 |
| Adjusted EBITDA attributable to PAA ($B) | 2.55 | 2.20 | 2.51 | 2.71 | 2.78 |
| Net Income ($B) | (2.58) | 0.648 | 1.23 | 1.50 | 1.11 |
Governance features:
- Clawback policy: mandatory recovery for material restatements; discretionary recovery for detrimental conduct (3‑year lookback) .
- Anti‑hedging/pledging: executives and directors prohibited from hedging or pledging company securities .
- Say‑on‑pay support: ~98% approval in 2024; four‑year average ~98% .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
Beneficial ownership and trading activity (publicly filed Form 4s; external aggregator summary):
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| PAA units owned (approx.) | 198,561 common units (Sr. VP Finance & CAO) |
| Ownership as % of voting units | ~0.028% (198,561 / 703,775,950 outstanding common units as of 3/24/2025) |
| PAGP roles/filings | Also a reporting owner at PAGP (Form 4 history) |
| Ownership guidelines | SVP guideline = 1x base salary; hold‑until‑met requirement |
| Hedging/pledging status | Company policy prohibits hedging/pledging by officers and directors |
Recent insider Form 4 activity (illustrative; per public aggregators):
| Date | Issuer | Transaction type | Quantity (units) | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 14–18, 2025 | PAA | Option exercise/transactions | 65,796 | — | |
| Aug 16, 2023 | PAA | Option-related transaction | 54,170 | $15.25 | |
| Aug 16, 2022 | PAA | Option-related transaction | 9,510 | $11.56 | |
| Aug 19–23, 2021 | PAA | Grant/transactions | — | — |
Notes:
- Aggregator summaries indicate net acquisitions of 383,528 shares and dispositions of 184,967 shares at PAA across 2021–2024 (total value ~$4.26M for sales); treat as indicative, corroborate with individual Form 4s for precision .
- Company policy prohibits pledging; proxy does not list Herbold’s personal pledged shares; none permitted under policy .
Employment Terms
Not specifically disclosed for Herbold (proxy details list confidentiality/non‑solicit terms for certain executives, but not for the CAO) .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Long tenure, principal accounting responsibility, and equity ownership support alignment; policy prohibits hedging/pledging; executives must meet ownership guidelines (SVP = 1x salary) with hold‑until‑met .
- Incentive quality: Annual bonus is fully formulaic and tied to Adjusted EBITDA, DCF/CUE, and safety/environment metrics; long‑term awards are 50/50 time/performance with TSR and multi‑year DCF/CUE targets, including leverage modifiers and clawback protections—structures that favor cash‑flow discipline and capital efficiency .
- Retention risk: No public employment contract disclosures for Herbold; recent Form 4 activity shows ongoing participation in grants/exercises typical for senior finance officers; broader 2025 retention grants targeted key ops/commercial executives, and CEO award expiration was extended—Board focus on leadership continuity mitigates near‑term succession risk in the finance function .
- Trading signals: Insider transactions show periodic grants and option‑related activity rather than large open‑market selling; evaluate sequence around vesting dates and distribution cycles for tax/DER cashflows before inferring sell pressure .
- Execution context: 2024 outperformance on EBITDA and DCF/CUE, within a disciplined capital framework and improved credit ratings, underscores a finance organization delivering to guidance and multi‑year targets—supportive for pay‑for‑performance evaluations tied to Herbold’s remit .