Jaime Leverton
Riot PlatformsAbout Jaime Leverton
Jaime Leverton (age 47) joined Riot’s Board in February 2025 as an independent director; she chairs the Governance & Nominating Committee and serves on the Audit and Compensation Committees. She holds a BA/BSS in Psychology & Political Science (University of Ottawa), an MBA (Dalhousie), and an ICD.D director certification (Rotman, University of Toronto) .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ulys Holdings, Inc. | Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson | Jul 2024 – Feb 2025 | Led fintech platform for banking and digital assets |
| Hut 8 Mining Corp. | Chief Executive Officer; Director | Dec 2020 – Feb 2024 | Public bitcoin miner; experience in converting BTC operations into AI/HPC space |
| eStruxture Data Centers | Chief Commercial Officer | Jun 2019 – Dec 2020 | Data center colocation leadership |
| Cogeco Peer 1 (Aptum Technologies) | General Manager, VP – Canada & APAC | May 2017 – May 2019 | Data center and cloud services operations leadership |
| National Bank of Canada | Managing Director, Financial Markets | Apr 2016 – May 2017 | Financial markets experience |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| WonderFi Technologies Inc. | Director | Mar 2024 – Aug 2024 | Global digital asset platform |
| Current public company boards | — | — | None |
| Private companies | Director | Current | Serves on multiple privately held company boards (names not disclosed) |
Board Governance
- Independence: Board determined Leverton is independent under Nasdaq and SEC rules, including additional Audit and Compensation Committee independence standards .
- Committee assignments: Chair, Governance & Nominating; Member, Audit (three members designated “audit committee financial experts,” including Leverton); Member, Compensation & Human Resources .
- Board structure: Classified board (three classes); six directors with four independent; Lead Independent Director is Lance D’Ambrosio; CEO and Executive Chairman roles separated .
- Attendance & engagement: In 2024, directors attended 100% of regular/special Board and committee meetings during their terms; executive sessions of independent directors occur at regularly scheduled meetings and were attended 100% by independent directors during their terms. Leverton joined in 2025 (attendance for 2024 pertains to then-serving directors) .
- Committee activity (2024): Audit Committee held 6 meetings; Compensation Committee 9; Governance Committee 2 (Leverton joined in Feb 2025; counts reflect 2024 activity) .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Terms / Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual cash retainer (non-employee director) | $100,000 | Standard Board retainer |
| Board Chair cash fee | $20,000 | Applies to Board Chair; committee chair fees not disclosed |
| Equity grant (annual) | RSAs or RSUs to non-employee directors | Granted at annual meeting; vest quarterly starting first quarter after grant; directors appointed mid-year receive pro-rated grant |
2024 Director compensation example: Then-serving independent directors (e.g., D’Ambrosio, Marleau, Cho) received $120,000 cash and $238,800 stock awards; Leverton was appointed in 2025 and shows “—” for 2024 .
Performance Compensation
| Metric / Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Director equity structure | Time-based RSAs/RSUs; quarterly vesting after grant; not performance-conditioned |
| Options | Company disclosed no options outstanding as of Dec 31, 2024 |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Compensation Committee interlocks | None; no related person transactions required disclosure among committee members |
| Shared roles with competitors/suppliers/customers | Not disclosed; current public boards: none |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Data centers and energy infrastructure; digital assets; corporate governance; finance and accounting; global business; risk management; human capital management. Board’s skills matrix shows Leverton with relevant checkmarks across core areas (including “Audit Committee financial expert”) .
- Education: BA/BSS (Psychology & Political Science, University of Ottawa), MBA (Dalhousie), ICD.D certification (Rotman) .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Shares Beneficially Owned | % of Shares Outstanding | Pledged? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jaime Leverton | 6,000 | * (less than 1%) | None; no directors or NEOs have pledged as of record date |
Notes:
- As of Dec 31, 2024, Leverton had 0 aggregate outstanding director equity awards (appointed in 2025) .
- Director stock ownership guidelines: 3x annual cash retainer within 5 years of joining the Board (or January 10, 2022, for earlier appointees) .
Governance Assessment
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Strengths
- Independent status confirmed; service on all key committees with Governance Chair role and Audit Committee financial expert designation supports board effectiveness and oversight .
- Robust committee cadence and executive sessions; 100% attendance track record among directors in 2024 indicates strong engagement culture .
- Transparent director compensation program (cash retainer + time-based equity), with ownership guidelines to enhance alignment .
- Board supports stockholder proposal to declassify the board (D.E. Shaw proposal), signaling receptivity to enhanced accountability through annual elections .
-
Potential Risks and RED FLAGS
- Related-party exposure: employment of CEO’s brother (Gregory Les) and Executive Chairman’s brother (Soomin David “David” Yi) with significant compensation and equity awards, albeit ratified by Compensation Committee and approved by Audit Committee (oversight exists, but familial ties are governance-sensitive) .
- Pledging policy permits directors/executives to pledge Riot stock up to a 25% loan/value cap; while mitigated by limits, many issuers prohibit pledging entirely—investors may view any pledging permission as a risk indicator .
- Classified board remains in place pending declassification (Board supports proposal), but staggered terms can reduce year-to-year accountability until fully declassified .
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Signals affecting investor confidence
- Addition of Leverton—data center and digital asset executive—aligns with Riot’s strategic pivot toward AI/HPC, strengthening sector-relevant governance expertise .
- Use of independent compensation consultant (Compensia) and audit oversight (Deloitte independence affirmed) supports governance quality in pay and financial reporting .
Committee charters and governance documents are accessible on Riot’s website (Audit, Governance, Compensation), supporting transparency .