Mallun Yen
Pure StorageAbout Mallun Yen
Mallun Yen (age 54) has served as an independent director of Pure Storage since September 2021. She is Founder and General Partner of Operator Collective (since December 2018) and holds a BS in Business Administration from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and a JD from UC Berkeley School of Law. Her background includes senior operating roles in technology and IP strategy, with expertise in as-a-Service business models and legal frameworks relevant to governance.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cisco Systems, Inc. | Vice President, Worldwide Intellectual Property | 2002–2010 | Led IP strategy for a major tech company, relevant to risk oversight |
| RPX Corporation | EVP & Chief Business & Product Officer; Director | Employee 2010–2017; Board 2017–2018 | Patent risk management leadership; investor perspective |
| SaaStr | Chief Operating Officer | 2012–2019 | Scaled SaaS community; as-a-Service expertise |
| ChIPs Network, Inc. | CEO & Board Member; Co-founder | Founded 2005 | Diversity in tech/law policy; governance community building |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator Collective | Founder & General Partner | Dec 2018–present | VC leadership; operator-led investing perspective |
| Other Public Company Boards | — | — | None disclosed in PSTG proxy |
Board Governance
- Independence: Director is classified as independent.
- Committee assignments: Member, Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee (FY2024 membership: R. Taylor (Chair), Rothschild, Yen; FY2025 membership: R. Taylor (Chair), Dietzen, Yen). Yen is not a chair.
- Committee activity: Governance Committee met 4 times in FY2024 and 4 times in FY2025.
- Board meeting attendance: Each director attended at least 75% of aggregate board and committee meetings in the last fiscal year. All directors attended the 2024 annual meeting.
- Executive sessions: Independent/non-management directors hold regular executive sessions without management.
- Tenure: Director since September 2021; Class III director (term through 2027 per 2024 proxy).
Fixed Compensation
| Component | FY2025 Amount/Terms | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual base cash retainer | $55,000 | Paid quarterly; non-employee director program |
| Governance committee member fee | $5,000 | FY2025 rate; chair is $15,000 (Yen is member) |
| Total cash paid (FY2025 reported) | $60,000 | As disclosed in director comp table |
| Annual RSU grant | 4,268 shares | Granted June 2024; vests in full at 1-year anniversary |
| RSU grant fair value | $285,487 | ASC 718 grant-date fair value |
| New director RSU (policy) | $600,000 | 25% at 1-year; remaining vest in 12 quarterly installments |
| Meeting fees | None disclosed | Program uses retainers; no per-meeting fees disclosed |
Performance Compensation
- PSTG does not tie director compensation to performance metrics; director equity is fixed-value RSUs that vest with service.
- For context on governance oversight, the Compensation & Talent Committee set FY2025 executive bonus metrics and targets as follows:
| Metric | Weighting | Target/Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 60% | $3.128B (~10.5% YoY growth) |
| Non-GAAP Operating Profit | 25% | $532M (~18% YoY growth); defined per 8-K reconciliation |
| Net Promoter Score (NPS) | 15% | Target range; prior audited NPS 82 |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
- Current public company boards: None disclosed for Mallun Yen.
- Compensation committee interlocks: PSTG discloses none among its compensation committee members (Yen is not on this committee).
Expertise & Qualifications
- Legal/IP strategy, technology operations, SaaS/as-a-Service models, and investor perspective.
- Education: BS (Cal Poly SLO); JD (UC Berkeley Law).
Equity Ownership
| Date | Common Stock | Options Exercisable (≤60 days) | RSUs Vesting (≤60 days) | Total Shares | % of Outstanding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 1, 2024 | 21,578 | — | — | 21,578 | <1% |
| April 17, 2025 | 32,099 | — | 4,268 | 36,367 | <1% |
Additional equity detail: Unvested RSUs as of Feb 2, 2025 = 9,366.
Ownership alignment policies:
- Stock ownership guidelines: Non-employee directors must hold 5x annual base retainer; compliance required within 5 years; at FY2025 year-end, all executives and non-employee directors met, exceeded, or were on track.
- Hedging/pledging: Prohibited for directors, officers, employees, and related persons.
- 10b5-1 plans: Directors generally required to pre-clear trades or use Rule 10b5-1 plans; blackout periods apply.
Insider Trades (Form 4)
| Filing Date | Transaction Date | Type | Shares Transacted | Price | Post-Transaction Owned | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-06-13 | 2025-06-11 | Award (RSU) | 4,735 | $0.00 | 44,501 | |
| 2024-06-14 | 2024-06-12 | Award (RSU) | 4,268 | $0.00 | 39,766 | |
| 2024-06-11 | 2024-06-07 | Sale | 4,818 | $64.78 | 35,498 |
Data sourced via insider-trades skill (Form 4).
Related-Party Transactions and Conflicts
- Policy: Any related-party transaction >$120,000 requires prior audit committee approval; none submitted since the beginning of the last fiscal year.
- Potential conflicts: Yen is a GP at Operator Collective (venture capital). No PSTG related-party transactions involving Yen or Operator Collective are disclosed. Hedging/pledging prohibited; 10b5-1 and blackout policies enforced.
Director Compensation Structure Analysis
- FY2025 adjustments: PSTG made slight adjustments to cash and equity components following consultant review (Meridian).
- Mix: Cash retainer plus fixed-value RSUs; no options; RSUs vest over service periods; change-of-control accelerates director awards.
- Governance signal: Fixed-value RSUs and stock ownership guidelines support alignment; prohibition on hedging/pledging reduces misalignment risk.
Say-on-Pay & Shareholder Feedback (Context)
- FY2024 Say-on-Pay failed with slightly >40% in favor; the compensation committee engaged extensively and adjusted FY2025 equity approach back to peer norms.
Governance signal: Active shareholder engagement and program adjustments suggest responsiveness; not directly tied to director pay but relevant to board effectiveness.
Governance Assessment
- Strengths: Independent status; active governance committee member; adequate attendance; strong ownership alignment policies; no related-party transactions; prohibition on hedging/pledging; executive sessions practiced.
- Alignment: Director compensation is modest and primarily in RSUs; cash retainer consistent with policy; stock ownership increasing YoY (21,578 to 36,367).
- RED FLAGS: None disclosed regarding related-party transactions, hedging/pledging, or attendance; one open-market sale in June 2024 is routine and within policy. [insider-trades table]
- Watch items: As a VC GP, monitor for potential interlocks or transactions; PSTG’s policy and audit committee oversight mitigate risk.