Claudia Hollingsworth
About Claudia Hollingsworth
Independent director since February 2018 (appointed immediately following the Business Combination), age 64 as of the 2025 record date. She has 30 years of consumer products experience across manufacturing, wholesale, and multi-channel retail; CEO of i2CEO since November 2016; NACD Director Certified and holds a Cybersecurity Oversight for Directors certification from Carnegie Mellon’s Software Engineering Institute. Background includes CEO roles at Gump’s San Francisco (which later filed Chapter 11 in August 2018) and i2CEO, and senior leadership at H.D. Buttercup, GBH, Michael Anthony Jewelers, M.Z. Berger & Co., and OroAmerica.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| i2CEO (boutique advisory) | Chief Executive Officer | Nov 2016–present | Advisory leadership; governance credentials (NACD.DC) |
| Gump’s San Francisco | Chief Executive Officer | Jul 2012–Oct 2016 | Led multi-channel retail; the company later filed Chapter 11 in Aug 2018 (post-tenure) |
| i2CEO | Chief Executive Officer | May 2011–Jun 2012 | Advisory leadership |
| H.D. Buttercup | President | Jul 2007–May 2011 | Furniture & rug retail operations leadership |
| GBH, Inc. | CEO & President | Mar 2004–Jul 2007 | International fine jewelry leadership |
| Michael Anthony Jewelers (AMEX: MAJJ) | President & Director | Feb 2002–Feb 2004 | Design/marketing/manufacturing leadership |
| M.Z. Berger & Co. | Executive roles | Early career | Watch wholesale management |
| OroAmerica (NASDAQ: OROA) | Executive roles | Early career | Jewelry manufacturer/wholesaler/distributor |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Destinations by Design (private) | Director | Current | Employee-owned; governance oversight |
| Global Partner Acquisition Corp II (NASDAQ: GPAC) | Director | Prior | Served on two board committees |
Board Governance
- Independence: Board determined that Hollingsworth is independent under Nasdaq/SEC rules; independent directors meet in regular executive sessions.
- Committee assignments: Chair, Human Capital & Compensation Committee (HCCC); Member, Nomination & Governance Committee (NGC); Not a member of Audit Committee.
- Committee activity 2024: Audit Committee (8 meetings); HCCC (7); NGC (3).
- Attendance: Board held 12 meetings in 2024; each director attended at least 87.5% of Board and applicable committee meetings; all eight current directors attended both 2024 annual and special stockholder meetings.
- Special committee: Board created a special committee; members include DiCamillo (chair), Hollingsworth, and Peterson. Compensation was $20,000/month to the chair and $15,000/month to members for months the committee functioned.
- Governance policies: Clawback policy (2023) administered by HCCC; anti-hedging and pledging policy prohibits short sales, trading options, margin accounts and pledges; stock ownership guidelines in place for senior leadership and non-employee directors.
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Amount | Structure/Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Board retainer (non-employee director) | $175,000 | Paid 100% in cash; paid quarterly in advance. |
| HCCC Chair fee | $15,000 | Incremental annual cash compensation. |
| Special committee member fee | $15,000 per month | Payable for each month the special committee functions. |
| 2024 Fees Earned (Hollingsworth) | $235,968 | Cash-only; includes special committee compensation. |
Non-employee director compensation is cash-only; no equity grants in 2024 for directors.
Performance Compensation
| Category | 2024 Value | Vesting/Performance Metrics |
|---|---|---|
| Stock awards (RSUs/PSUs) | $0 | No director equity awards disclosed for 2024. |
| Option awards | $0 | None disclosed for directors in 2024. |
| Non-equity incentive plan | $0 | None for directors. |
HCCC oversees executive incentive design (corporate goals, short/long-term incentives), reviews CEO/executive performance, and administers the clawback policy, but directors themselves did not receive performance-based compensation in 2024.
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Additional public company boards | Prior: GPAC II (NASDAQ: GPAC), with service on two committees. |
| HCCC interlocks | None; no HCCC member served as an officer of the Company, and no interlocks or insider participation disclosed. |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Public company board and operating experience; deep operations, retail/sales, consumer marketing/brand, manufacturing/supply chain/logistics, product development, P&L management, risk/crisis management; cybersecurity risks exposure noted in skills matrix.
- NACD Director Certified; Cybersecurity Oversight for Directors certification; well qualified by operational, financial, and management background.
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Shares Beneficially Owned | % of Outstanding | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claudia Hollingsworth (via i2CEO, LLC) | 73,598 | <1.0% | Held by i2CEO, LLC; she has voting/dispositive control; disclaims beneficial ownership except to extent of pecuniary interest. |
Percentages based on 108,221,494 Class A shares outstanding as of the Record Date.
Insider Trades
| Period Checked | Person | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-01-01 to 2025-11-20 | Hollingsworth | No Form 4 insider trades found (insider-trades skill run for PRPL; person filter “Hollingsworth”). |
Governance Assessment
- Board effectiveness: Hollingsworth chairs HCCC and sits on NGC, reflecting central roles in compensation governance, succession planning, and board evaluation; independence affirmed; attendance at least 87.5%.
- Alignment: Company has stock ownership guidelines for directors and strong anti-hedging/pledging prohibitions; however, director pay in 2024 was cash-only with no equity, which may reduce direct equity alignment versus typical equity retainer structures.
- Conflicts/related parties: Audit Committee reviews and must approve related person transactions; 2024–2025 related party financing involved Coliseum (not Hollingsworth-specific) and is subject to Audit Committee oversight. No HCCC interlocks disclosed.
- Signals: Special committee service indicates elevated board engagement on governance/strategic issues, with incremental monthly fees reflecting workload.
- Risk indicators: Prior association with Gump’s San Francisco, which subsequently filed Chapter 11 (post-tenure); anti-hedging/pledging policy mitigates alignment risks; clawback policy enhances accountability for incentive compensation.
Overall, Hollingsworth’s committee leadership, independence, and attendance support governance quality; cash-only director compensation and modest personal ownership (<1%) are alignment considerations for investors.