Mark Esquivel
About Mark Esquivel
President and Chief Operating Officer of Park Aerospace Corp. since November 2, 2020; previously Executive Vice President & COO (May 7, 2019), Senior Vice President & COO (December 2018), Senior Vice President – Aerospace (October 2017), and Vice President – Aerospace / President of Park Aerospace Technologies Corp. (April 2015). He has been employed by Park and its subsidiaries since 1994; age 49 as disclosed in FY 2022 filings; his remit spans operations and program execution including oversight of project management additions reporting to him. Company-level performance context: cumulative TSR (value of $100) was $140.61 (FY 2023), $113.90 (FY 2024), and $125.74 (FY 2025), with Net Income of $10,731k (FY 2023), $7,473k (FY 2024), and $5,882k (FY 2025) and Adjusted EBITDA of $11,459k (FY 2023), $10,989k (FY 2024), and $11,649k (FY 2025). His recent call remarks emphasized specification testing progress at customers, reinforcing an execution-centric operating focus.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Park Aerospace Corp. | President & COO | Nov 2020 – present | Leads company operations and execution; oversight includes Project Management SVP reporting line additions |
| Park Aerospace Corp. | EVP & COO | May 2019 – Nov 2020 | Enterprise-wide operations leadership through aerospace materials and structures transition |
| Park Aerospace Corp. | SVP & COO | Dec 2018 – May 2019 | Integration and efficiency across aerospace segment operations |
| Park Aerospace Corp. | SVP – Aerospace | Oct 2017 – Dec 2018 | Grew aerospace materials franchise; prepared for COO transition |
| Park Aerospace Technologies Corp. (Newton, KS) | President; later VP Aerospace Composite Structures | Jun 2010 – Mar 2015 | Led composites manufacturing, FAA certification/testing support; scaled operations |
| Neltec, Inc. (former Park unit, Tempe, AZ) | VP & GM | Sep 2008 – prior to Jun 2010 | Day-to-day P&L and operations leadership |
External Roles
No public company directorships or external board roles are disclosed for Esquivel in Park’s SEC filings; filings list only internal executive roles.
Fixed Compensation
| Metric | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | FY 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salary ($) | $234,500 | $244,756 | $250,150 |
| Bonus ($) | $27,500 | $30,000 | $35,000 |
| All Other Compensation ($) | $7,205 | $7,266 | $6,213 |
| Total ($) | $323,535 | $343,022 | $372,863 |
Notes:
- Bonuses are discretionary; Park does not set formulaic targets or objective criteria for executive bonuses.
Performance Compensation
Park uses stock options as the sole form of equity; no RSUs/PSUs are granted; cash bonuses are discretionary and not tied to pre-set performance metrics. Options generally vest 25% one year after grant and 25% on each anniversary thereafter, with 10-year terms; exercise price equals the prior-day NYSE closing price.
Option Grants (Mark Esquivel)
| Grant Date | Number of Options | Exercise Price ($/sh) | Grant-Date Closing Price ($/sh) | Grant-Date Fair Value ($) | Vesting | Expiration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 05/01/2023 | 20,000 | 13.08 | 13.23 | 61,000 | 25% at 1 year; 25% annually thereafter | 10 years |
| 06/18/2024 | 25,000 | 13.26 | 13.27 | 81,500 | 25% at 1 year; 25% annually thereafter | 10 years |
Payout Mechanics and Metrics
| Incentive Type | Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout Determination | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Cash Bonus | Company and individual performance (subjective) | N/A | No targets | N/A | Discretionary by CEO and Compensation Committee | Cash (annual) |
| Stock Options | Time-based vesting; optional performance components permitted under plan but not disclosed for Esquivel’s grants | N/A | N/A | N/A | Grant size discretionary; exercise price = prior-day close | 25% per year over 4 years; 10-year term |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Beneficial ownership as of June 2, 2025: 111,250 shares, including 96,250 shares issuable upon exercise of options exercisable within 60 days; less than 1% of shares outstanding.
- Beneficial ownership as of June 3, 2024: 70,750 shares, consisting entirely of options exercisable within 60 days; less than 1%.
- Outstanding equity awards detail at FY 2025 year end: multiple option tranches with exercise prices adjusted for special dividends; mix of exercisable/unexercisable across 2019–2024 grants.
| Grant Date | Exercisable (#) | Unexercisable (#) | Exercise Price ($) | Expiration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 05/07/2019 | 15,000 | — | 14.44 (adjusted for special dividends) | 05/07/2029 |
| 04/09/2020 | 25,000 | — | 11.58 (adjusted) | 04/09/2030 |
| 04/02/2021 | 18,750 | 6,250 | 12.80 (adjusted) | 04/02/2031 |
| 04/12/2022 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 11.06 (adjusted) | 04/12/2032 |
| 05/01/2023 | 5,000 | 15,000 | 13.08 (adjusted) | 05/01/2033 |
| 06/18/2024 | — | 25,000 | 13.26 | 06/18/2034 |
Insider transactions:
- FY 2025 option exercise: 4,500 shares; pre-tax value realized $11,430. FY 2024: no option exercises.
Alignment policies:
- Insider trading policies are maintained via memoranda (latest dated May 19, 2022) filed with the 10-K; pledging/hedging provisions are not specifically disclosed.
- No executive stock ownership guidelines are disclosed; director guideline exists (≥1,000 shares after a reasonable period).
Employment Terms
- Employment status: at-will for all executive officers; no individual employment, severance or change-in-control agreements beyond stock option plan provisions.
- Change-of-control mechanics: 2002 Plan provided single-trigger full exercisability upon Change of Control; 2018 Plan uses double-trigger accelerated vesting only if options are assumed/substituted and the executive is involuntarily terminated without Cause or resigns for Good Reason within one year post-transaction; if options are not assumed/substituted, the committee may accelerate vesting/exercisability.
- Illustrative value at March 1, 2024 (under 2002 Plan single-trigger case): Esquivel could have realized $59,638 from unexercisable options, based on $14.95 share price less exercise prices, before taxes.
- Retirement, deferred comp, and perquisites: No defined benefit pension or non-qualified deferred compensation plans; profit sharing contributions are discretionary and vest per service; perquisites limited to company-provided automobiles (incremental cost < $10,000 annually, not included in SCT).
- Clawback and tax gross-ups: No clawback policy or tax gross-up provisions are disclosed in the proxy/CD&A; options cannot be repriced without shareholder approval.
Compensation Structure Analysis
- Pay mix shows modest salary growth and rising discretionary bonuses, while equity remains solely option-based; Park explicitly does not benchmark against peers and sets pay via subjective assessments of overall results and individual performance, with no formulaic targets.
- Shift from options to RSUs/PSUs: none; Park does not grant RSUs/PSUs and maintains option-only equity, with fair market value exercise prices and time-based vesting.
- Risk controls: 2018 Plan prohibits discounted options, repricing without shareholder approval, and single-trigger acceleration if awards are assumed; minimum 1-year vesting (with limited exceptions).
- Say-on-pay outcomes: Company cites a “high level of support” at the July 18, 2024 annual meeting, indicating shareholder tolerance for the discretionary, option-heavy design.
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Esquivel’s ownership is <1% with predominantly option-based equity and time-based vesting; absence of PSU/TSR-linked awards reduces explicit pay-for-performance alignment and may dilute downside accountability, though options do require share price appreciation to deliver value.
- Retention and selling pressure: Tenure since 1994 and ongoing option vesting cadence support retention; limited FY 2025 exercises ($11,430) suggest minimal near-term selling pressure.
- Change-of-control economics: Double-trigger protections (2018 Plan) and committee discretion if awards are not assumed temper immediate windfalls; illustrative single-trigger values (2002 Plan) are modest for Esquivel relative to CEO, implying manageable parachute risk.
- Governance: Independent Compensation/Stock Option Committees, no repricing, fair-market exercise pricing, and minimum vesting guardrails are positives; lack of disclosed clawback, executive ownership guidelines, and formulaic metrics are red flags for rigorous pay-performance linkage.