Edward Leppert - Director | PROVIDENT FINANCIAL SERVICES (PFS) Executive Profile & Compensation

About Edward J. Leppert

Edward J. Leppert, age 64, is an independent director of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (PFS) since 2020 with a term expiring in 2026. He is a certified public accountant and founder of Leppert Group LLC (public practice since 1986), formerly Chairman of SB One Bancorp and SB One Bank. He qualifies as an Audit Committee financial expert and brings audit, financial reporting, sustainability, and disclosure expertise, with deep knowledge of northern New Jersey markets .

Past Roles

Organization	Role	Tenure	Committees/Impact
SB One Bancorp	Chairman of the Board	Not disclosed	Led financial institution oversight; relevant to PFS’s regional banking footprint
SB One Bank	Chairman of the Board	Not disclosed	Banking governance leadership; audit/financial reporting orientation
Leppert Group LLC	Founder; CPA (public practice since 1986)	1986–present	Audit, financial reporting, sustainability, and disclosure expertise applicable to PFS oversight

External Roles

Organization	Role	Tenure	Committees/Impact
—	—	—	No additional public-company directorships disclosed for Mr. Leppert in the proxy

Board Governance

Area	Detail
Independence	Board affirmatively determined Mr. Leppert is independent under NYSE rules; he is also designated an Audit Committee financial expert .
Committee assignments (2024)	Audit Committee (Chair); Compensation & Human Capital Committee (Member); Finance Committee (Member) .
Committee meeting cadence (2024)	Audit: 12 meetings; Compensation & Human Capital: 6; Finance: 3 .
Board meeting cadence (2024)	Board met 14 times; all directors attended ≥75% of board/committee meetings (aggregated) .
Lead Independent Director	John Pugliese; executive sessions of non-management directors held at least twice per year .
Audit Committee report (2024)	Audit Committee (signed by Chair Edward J. Leppert) recommended inclusion of 2024 audited financial statements in Form 10-K and approved re-appointment of KPMG LLP as auditor for 2025 subject to shareholder ratification .

Fixed Compensation

Item	FY 2024 Amount/Terms
Annual cash fees paid (Leppert)	$106,875 .
Equity grant (grant-date fair value)	$89,999; annual equity equals shares equivalent to $90,000, 1-year vest; 2024 grants made May 28, 2024 .
All other compensation	$6,914 (includes dividends on stock awards; some directors also receive Executive Health Plan benefits—note list does not include Leppert) .
Change in pension/def. comp. value	— (none reported for Leppert) .
Total director compensation (Leppert)	$203,788 .
Fee structure (unchanged vs. 2023)	Board retainer $55,000; Lead Director retainer $25,000; Committee retainers: Audit/Comp Chairs $27,500; Audit/Comp members $15,000; Governance Chair $20,000; Governance members $10,000; Enterprise Risk/Finance/Technology Chairs $22,500; those committee members $12,500; no per-meeting fees .
Options outstanding	None outstanding for non-executive directors as of 12/31/2024 .

Performance Compensation

Component	Structure	Metrics/Notes
Director equity	Time-based RSUs only; 1-year vest; annual grant sized to ~$90,000	No performance metrics for director equity; grant on 5/28/2024; valued per grant-date closing price .

Note: Performance metrics (ROAA/ROATE/TSR modifier) apply to executive long-term incentives, not director pay .

Other Directorships & Interlocks

Topic	Status
Current public company boards	Not disclosed for Mr. Leppert in the proxy .
Compensation Committee interlocks (2024)	None. Members (including Leppert) had no interlocks or insider participation as defined; exception noted only for another director’s personal line of credit post-merger .

Expertise & Qualifications

Certified Public Accountant; Audit Committee financial expert designation .
Founder of Leppert Group LLC; decades of public accounting experience since 1986 .
Former chairman roles at SB One Bancorp/SB One Bank; experience in audit, financial reporting, sustainability, disclosure; market knowledge of northern New Jersey .

Equity Ownership

Holder	Shares Owned Directly/Indirectly	Options	Beneficial Ownership	% of Class	Unvested Stock Awards Included
Edward J. Leppert	148,364	—	148,364	<1%	6,177

Additional alignment policies:

Director stock ownership guideline: 5x annual cash retainer (i.e., 5 × $55,000), with guidelines established by the board .
Hedging/pledging prohibitions and clawback framework are documented for executives; board-level clawback policy adopted to comply with NYSE/SEC rules .

Governance Assessment

Strengths for investor confidence:
- Audit Committee Chair and designated financial expert; demonstrable engagement (12 Audit meetings in 2024) and formal audit report actions, including auditor oversight and re-appointment recommendation .
- Independent status affirmed; no compensation committee interlocks; fee structure benchmarked with independent consultant (FW Cook) and unchanged in 2024—supports pay discipline .
- Clear director equity design (time-based, one-year vest) and no options outstanding; reduces risk of pay complexity or option repricing .
- Robust governance practices: board/committee self-evaluations, strategy focus, risk oversight (with specialized committees and high meeting cadence), and stock ownership guidelines .
Watch items / potential conflicts:
- Bank reports aggregate loans/commitments to executive officers/directors or related entities of $74 million on market terms and subject to board approval/recusal procedures; while not attributed to Leppert, ongoing monitoring of director-related credit exposures is prudent in a regional bank context .
- Attendance disclosure is aggregate (≥75%) rather than individual; no red flag indicated, but lacks individual granularity .
Net view: Mr. Leppert’s profile (CPA, audit chair/financial expert, independent) and compensation structure indicate strong alignment with financial oversight and board effectiveness, with no Leppert-specific related-party or interlock concerns disclosed in the latest proxy .