Michael Yung
About Michael Yung
Michael Yung, 59, has served as Phoenix Motor Inc.’s Chief Financial Officer since April 17, 2024, and holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing/finance from the New York Institute of Technology . His prior experience includes CFO and SVP roles at Pingtan Marine Enterprise (2015–2023), leading SEC reporting, IR, audits, and M&A due diligence; and senior finance roles at Terra Nova Natural Resources, European American Capital, UBS PaineWebber, and Citicorp Investment Services . Company performance prior to his tenure showed net revenues declining from $4.33M in 2022 to $3.12M in 2023 and net losses widening from $12.7M to $20.6M . Phoenix maintains an anti-hedging and anti-pledging policy for insiders, supporting alignment and risk control .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pingtan Marine Enterprise Ltd. | Senior Vice President; Chief Financial Officer | SVP: 2015–2019; CFO: 2019–2023 | Managed SEC filings, investor relations; led audits and M&A due diligence |
| Terra Nova Natural Resources | Managing Director | 2008–2013 | Led operations; commodities transactions management |
| European American Capital | Managing Director (Asia) | Not disclosed | Initiated regional operations; managed high-value commodity transactions |
| UBS Paine Webber | Senior Vice President | Not disclosed | Senior finance role |
| Citicorp Investment Services | Vice President | Not disclosed | Senior finance role |
External Roles
No current external public-company directorships or committee roles disclosed for Michael Yung .
Fixed Compensation
| Metric | FY 2024 |
|---|---|
| Base Salary ($) | 131,125 |
| Stock/Options Awards ($) | 8,640 (option grant; see details below) |
| Actual Cash Bonus ($) | Not disclosed; compensation program includes discretionary cash bonus, but no bonus shown for 2024 |
| Other Compensation ($) | Not disclosed for Yung |
Notes:
- Executive pay program components: base salary, discretionary cash bonus, equity-based awards, 401(k) matching/profit sharing, and insurance premiums .
Performance Compensation
| Incentive Type | Grant Date | Quantity | Exercise/Strike | Expiration | Vesting | Performance Metrics | Payout Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stock Options (NQ) | 2024 (grant under 2021 Plan) | 240,000 options | $0.34/share | 7/1/2034 | 25% on each of the first, second, third, and fourth anniversary of grant date | None disclosed; time-based vesting | Equity value upon vest/exercise |
- The 2021 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan permits the Compensation Committee to provide for full vesting and immediate exercisability upon change-in-control for awards, at its discretion (plan-level provision; not executive-specific) .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Total Beneficial Ownership (Shares) | Not disclosed / none reported for Yung as of Record Date (no shares and no options exercisable within 60 days) |
| Ownership as % of Outstanding | Not disclosed (table indicates “—”; 45,979,404 shares outstanding) |
| Options Exercisable (within 60 days of Record Date) | 0 |
| Options Unexercisable (Unvested) | 240,000 (strike $0.34; expire 7/1/2034) |
| RSUs/PSUs Unvested | None disclosed |
| Shares Pledged as Collateral | Prohibited by Insider Trading Policy |
| Hedging of Company Stock | Prohibited for directors, officers, and employees |
| Ownership Guidelines (Executives) | Not disclosed; director program encourages equity ownership, but executive guideline not specified |
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Agreement Type | At-will employment; effective on signing and remaining effective through 2025; renewable |
| Termination (Cause/No Cause) | Company may terminate for cause (e.g., felony, fraud, improper disclosure, reputational harm, failure to perform) or without cause; either party may terminate with advance written notice |
| Severance (Salary + Bonus Multiples) | Not disclosed |
| Change-in-Control Treatment | 2021 Plan permits accelerated vesting at committee discretion; no executive-specific automatic acceleration disclosed |
| Clawback Provisions | Not disclosed in proxy for executives |
| Tax Gross-ups | Not disclosed for executives; no gross-ups noted for Yung |
| Non-Compete / Non-Solicit | Not disclosed |
| Garden Leave / Consulting | Not disclosed |
Performance & Track Record
| Metric | FY 2022 | FY 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Net Revenues ($USD Thousands) | $4,330 | $3,122 |
| Net Loss ($USD Thousands) | $(12,705) | $(20,645) |
- CFO Tenure Start: April 17, 2024; prior-year figures precede his tenure .
- Governance note: Section 16(a) filings by insiders were not timely in 2024; remediation underway, which presents a governance-process risk indicator .
- Nasdaq listing risk prompted a proposed reverse stock split authorization (1-for-5 to 1-for-10) to regain compliance with the $1 bid price rule, reflecting market-capitalization and liquidity constraints in the period around his appointment .
Compensation Structure Analysis
- Mix: Cash salary plus time-based stock options; no disclosed performance-vesting equity (PSUs) or specific annual incentive metrics for Yung, indicating higher weight on time-based equity and discretionary cash components versus formulaic pay-for-performance .
- Plan capacity: Board sought to increase shares available under the 2021 Plan to 20% of fully-diluted shares, potentially elevating equity overhang and future dilution but also supporting retention/equity incentives across executives .
- Accelerated vesting risk: Plan-level change-in-control acceleration is permitted at committee discretion, a potential pay-risk if broadly applied without stringent performance conditions .
Related Party Transactions and Red Flags
- Significant related-party transactions with SPI entities (loans, services, guarantees) were disclosed, though not tied to Yung personally; SPI guarantee was released in September 2024 .
- Hedging/pledging prohibitions mitigate alignment risks; however, board-level governance processes flagged late Section 16 filings in 2024 .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Time-based options (240,000 at $0.34; four-year vest) align Yung to long-term equity value creation, but lack of disclosed performance metrics (e.g., revenue, EBITDA, TSR hurdles) limits explicit pay-for-performance linkage .
- Selling pressure: No current beneficial share ownership or near-term exercisable options reported as of the Record Date reduces immediate insider selling pressure signals; vesting over four years distributes potential supply over time .
- Retention risk: At-will agreement without disclosed severance/change-in-control protections suggests limited contractual retention levers; equity vesting is the primary retention mechanism .
- Governance and liquidity: Reverse split authorization and prior late Section 16 filings highlight governance and listing-pressure risks; these can affect investor confidence and cost of capital during CFO’s tenure .
- Dilution: Proposed increase of plan share reserve to 20% of fully diluted shares raises equity overhang concerns; monitor grant pacing and dilution versus tangible operating milestones .
Key monitoring items: (1) disclosure of 2025 bonus metrics and payouts for CFO, (2) additional equity grants and any performance-based awards, (3) insider Form 4 activity post-vesting, (4) progress on governance remediation and Nasdaq compliance, and (5) operating KPIs (orders, deliveries, margin trajectory) under CFO stewardship **[1879848_0001493152-25-009897_formdef14a.htm:25]** **[1879848_0001493152-25-009897_formdef14a.htm:30]** **[1879848_0001493152-25-009897_formdef14a.htm:35]** **[1879848_0001410578-24-000471_pev-20231231x10k.htm:42]**.