Asheet Mehta
About Asheet Mehta
Asheet Mehta, 59, is an independent director of Pagaya Technologies (PGY) since 2024. He is a former Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company, where he led the Financial Services Practice in the Americas and co-led it globally; he also served on McKinsey’s Shareholders Council (board). He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University and an M.B.A. with High Honors in Finance and Production Management from the University of Chicago . Pagaya announced his appointment as an independent director on December 23, 2024 .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| McKinsey & Company | Senior Partner; Former leader, Financial Services Practice (Americas); Co-lead, Global Financial Services | — | Member, McKinsey Shareholders Council (board); strategy, large-scale transformations, organizational effectiveness |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Piramal Enterprises (India) | Director (public company) | Current | Publicly listed lender in India |
| Asia Society | Board of Trustees | Current | Chairs Risk and Audit Committee |
| Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences | Board of Visitors | Current | — |
| MoneySatNav | Advisor | Current | Fintech advisory role |
| CreditEnable | Advisor | Current | Fintech advisory role |
| Partnership with Children | Board (prior) | Prior | Prior non-profit board service |
Board Governance
- Independence: Board determined Mehta is an “independent director” under Nasdaq rules and proxy confirms he qualifies as independent .
- Committee assignment: Member, Risk Committee (chair: Dan Petrozzo). Risk Committee members are Harvey Golub, Dan Petrozzo, Tami Rosen, and Asheet Mehta ; proxy also notes Mehta is currently on the Risk Committee .
- Board/committee activity (2024): Board held 14 meetings; each director attended at least 75% of Board meetings . Committees held: Audit & Finance (7), Compensation (4), Nominating & Corporate Governance (2), Risk (4); each committee member attended at least 75% of their committee meetings .
- Leadership: Board led by independent Chairman, Avi Zeevi; independent directors meet in regular executive sessions .
- Director elections (June 9, 2025 AGM): Mehta received 146,304,827 For; 55,347 Against; 844,602 Abstain; 11,913,329 broker non-votes .
Board and Committee Meetings (2024)
| Body | Meetings Held | Attendance Disclosure |
|---|---|---|
| Board of Directors | 14 | Each director attended ≥75% of Board meetings |
| Audit & Finance Committee | 7 | Each committee member attended ≥75% of meetings |
| Compensation Committee | 4 | Each committee member attended ≥75% of meetings |
| Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee | 2 | Each committee member attended ≥75% of meetings |
| Risk Committee | 4 | Each committee member attended ≥75% of meetings |
Fixed Compensation
- Non-employee director program (shareholder-approved, 2022): $40,000 annual cash retainer; +$10,000 annual cash fee for any committee chair; annual equity award with grant-date value $300,000, vesting in equal quarterly installments over one year. Board Chair receives $250,000 cash plus the same equity award .
Director Compensation (FY2024)
| Name | Cash Fees ($) | Stock Awards ($) | Option Awards ($) | Total ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asheet Mehta | 0 | 168,000 | — | 168,000 |
Notes: Stock award amounts reflect grant date fair value under ASC 718 .
Performance Compensation
- Structure: Pagaya’s non-employee director equity grants vest quarterly over one year; no performance-conditioned metrics are disclosed for director equity awards .
Equity Award Detail (filings)
| Date | Form | Transaction | Securities | Post-Transaction Ownership | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-12-22 (filed 2025-01-14) | Form 4 | Award (A) | 18,750 Class A Ordinary Shares | 18,750 | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1883085/000188308525000021/0001883085-25-000021-index.htm |
| 2024-12-19 (filed 2025-01-14) | Form 3 | Initial statement | — | — | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1883085/000188308525000019/0001883085-25-000019-index.htm |
Source: Insider trades skill (Form 3/4). Note: Programmatic director equity vests time-based; no performance metric disclosure for directors .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
- Current public boards: Piramal Enterprises (India) .
- Committee interlocks: Company discloses “Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation: None” (at the company level) .
- Related-party transactions: Proxy describes related party review policy; the specific 2024 related-party example involves the Chair (Avi Zeevi) and Casemate, not Mehta .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Deep financial services and banking expertise; led McKinsey FS practices (Americas/global) and advised fintechs, banks, insurers, asset/wealth managers .
- Governance and risk oversight: Chairs Risk & Audit at Asia Society; serves on Pagaya Risk Committee .
- Education: B.S., Columbia University; M.B.A. (High Honors), University of Chicago .
Equity Ownership
Beneficial Ownership (as of March 31, 2025)
| Holder | Class A Shares | Class A % | Class B Shares | Class B % | % of Total Voting Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asheet Mehta | 6,250 | * | — | — | * |
“*” = less than 1%. Calculation based on 62,786,057 Class A and 12,652,310 Class B outstanding as of March 31, 2025 .
- Hedging/pledging: Hedging by directors is prohibited; any pledging requires Board approval .
- Section 16(a) compliance: Company reported certain late filings in 2024; for Mehta, a Form 3 and Form 4 were filed on January 14, 2025 instead of December 26, 2024 due to delay obtaining EDGAR codes .
Governance Assessment
- Strengths: Independent director with deep FS risk/strategy expertise; member of Risk Committee; Board retains majority independents and independent chair; robust board/committee activity with ≥75% attendance; strong shareholder support for Mehta’s election (146.3M For vs. 55k Against) .
- Alignment: For 2024, Mehta’s compensation was equity-only ($168k), consistent with investor-preferred alignment; standard non-employee program vests quarterly, emphasizing ongoing service and alignment .
- Conflicts/Related-party: No Mehta-specific related-party transactions disclosed; company maintains formal related-person policy; hedging prohibited and pledging restricted .
- Watch items: Administrative late Section 16 filings upon onboarding (Form 3/4 timing) noted, attributed to EDGAR code delays; not indicative of trading concerns but a minor compliance lapse .
- Overall: Governance profile supportive of investor confidence—independence, risk expertise, high election support, and equity-weighted director pay—with no disclosed conflicts or red flags specific to Mehta .