Barbara Piette
About Barbara A. Piette
Barbara A. Piette, age 69, is an independent director of Provident Bancorp, Inc. (BankProv), serving since 2019. She is Managing Principal of Avoca Partners and a Senior Advisor (and Investment Committee member) to Knightsbridge Advisers; previously, she held partner roles at Charles River Ventures and Schroder Ventures and co-founded Schroder Ventures Life Sciences, bringing deep capital markets and venture governance expertise to the board. Education was not disclosed in the proxy. She holds unvested restricted stock and substantial vested options, evidencing ongoing equity alignment .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knightsbridge Advisers | Managing Principal (co-head), later Senior Advisor; Investment Committee member | Managing Principal until 2024; current Senior Advisor | Led portfolio management, investment due diligence, and decision-making; continued oversight on Investment Committee |
| Charles River Ventures | Partner | Not disclosed | Venture investment leadership; capital markets expertise |
| Schroder Ventures | Partner; Co-founder of Schroder Ventures Life Sciences | Not disclosed | Built life sciences investing platform; early-stage governance and strategy |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Focus Area | Public Company Board? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avoca Partners | Managing Principal | Advisor to emerging venture firms (At One Ventures – climate/sustainability; Construct Capital – foundational industries software; Glasswing Ventures – AI-native enterprise/cybersecurity; Will Ventures – sports tech) and early-stage tech companies | Not disclosed (advisor roles; no public directorships disclosed) |
| Knightsbridge Advisers | Senior Advisor; Investment Committee | Venture fund-of-funds oversight | No public company board disclosed |
Board Governance
- Committee assignments: Audit Committee member; not a chair. Audit met 6x in 2024; Compensation 6x; Nominating & Corporate Governance 2x .
- Independence: Board determined all directors except the CEO are independent under Nasdaq standards; all committee members are independent, and Audit meets SEC independence rules .
- Attendance: The board held 8 regular meetings and 8 independent director meetings in 2024; no incumbent director attended fewer than 75% of board/committee meetings. All directors attended the 2024 annual meeting except Director DeLeo (Piette attended) .
- Board leadership: Independent Chair (Laurie H. Knapp), with periodic independent director sessions and CEO performance evaluation by independents .
Fixed Compensation
| Item | Amount (USD) | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Fees Earned or Paid in Cash | $37,000 | 2024 |
| Stock Awards (Director) | $0 (no grant in 2024 for Piette) | 2024 |
| Option Awards (Director) | $0 (no grant in 2024 for Piette) | 2024 |
| Total | $37,000 | 2024 |
Director fee schedule (structure):
- Base annual retainer: $15,000 for directors; $50,000 for Board Chair .
- Board meeting fee: $1,250 per meeting .
- Committee chair retainers: Audit $7,000; Compensation $3,500; other committee chairs $2,500 .
- Committee meeting fee: $750 per meeting (members including chair); Bank Risk Committee chair $2,500; members $1,500 .
Performance Compensation
| Equity Instrument | Status | Quantity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restricted Stock (Unvested) | Unvested | 2,042 shares | Time-based vesting; director equity awards outstanding as of 12/31/2024 |
| Stock Options (Vested) | Exercisable | 35,181 options | Prior-year grants; exercisable at various strikes/terms (director option balances disclosed) |
| Stock Options (Unvested) | Unvested | 5,100 options | Time-based vesting; schedule not specified in proxy for director awards |
- Performance metrics tied to director compensation: Not disclosed; director equity appears time-based rather than performance-conditioned .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Role | Committee Roles | Potential Interlock/Conflict |
|---|---|---|---|
| None disclosed (public company boards) | N/A | N/A | No public interlocks indicated in proxy |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Capital markets and venture governance: 20+ years as a venture capitalist; fund-of-funds leadership; advisor across AI, cybersecurity, climate, and industrial tech .
- Governance and risk: Audit Committee member; exposure to risk oversight via committee structure .
- Community banking context: Board experience since 2019 aligning venture perspective with a community/commercial bank footprint .
Equity Ownership
| Metric | Value | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Total beneficial ownership (shares) | 55,891 | Includes 2,042 unvested restricted shares and 35,181 exercisable options |
| Ownership as % of shares outstanding | <1% (*) | Based on 17,788,543 shares outstanding (as of 3/28/2025) |
| Vested vs. unvested | 35,181 options vested; 5,100 options unvested; 2,042 RSU unvested | Director balances at 12/31/2024 |
| Pledged shares | None indicated (company notes “unless otherwise indicated, none of the shares listed are pledged”) | Anti-pledging and hedging restrictions in policy |
| Stock ownership guidelines | Directors: 5x annual board retainer; compliance within five-year phase-in (all directors met or within phase-in as of 12/31/2024) | Alignment policy adopted March 2024 |
Governance Assessment
-
Strengths:
- Independent director with deep capital markets and venture governance background; Audit Committee membership supports financial oversight rigor .
- Strong attendance and engagement record (board/committee attendance >75%; annual meeting attendance) enhances board effectiveness and investor confidence .
- Material equity alignment via unvested RSUs and significant vested options; company-wide adoption of stock ownership guidelines and clawback policy, and prohibitions on pledging/hedging strengthen alignment and risk control .
-
Potential Risks/RED FLAGS:
- No specific conflicts or related-party transactions disclosed for Piette; company notes standard director/officer lending in ordinary course and a non-reportable line of credit to an entity related to another director (Sullivan), not Piette .
- No late Section 16 filings reported for Piette (late filings noted for others), which is positive .
- Director equity appears time-based; absence of performance-conditioned director equity is typical but provides less pay-for-performance linkage for directors; not flagged as a governance issue in proxy .
-
Signals for investors:
- Audit Committee role and independence, plus board declassification initiative and majority voting policy, indicate improving governance posture and accountability—positive for investor confidence .
- Ownership guidelines and prohibitions on pledging/hedging reduce alignment risks; equity holdings suggest meaningful “skin in the game” without pledging .