Walter Bigby Jr.
About Walter O. Bigby, Jr.
Independent Class 2 Director at Retractable Technologies, Inc. since July 2012; age 60. Background in owning and operating healthcare-related businesses, including hospitals and nursing homes, as well as commercial real estate and office equipment providers, with direct operating experience since at least 2001 via Bastrop Rehabilitation Hospital in Louisiana .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bastrop Rehabilitation Hospital (LA) | Owner/Operator | Since 2001 | Healthcare operations leadership; small-cap private provider context |
| Various small businesses (hospitals, nursing homes, commercial real estate, office equipment providers) | Owner/Operator | Ongoing (not individually dated) | Operational breadth across healthcare and adjacent services |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nursing home (LA) | Minority interest owner | Not disclosed | Passive ownership stake in long-term care facility |
Board Governance
- Independence: Board lists Walter O. Bigby, Jr. as independent under NYSE American standards .
- Committee assignments:
- Audit Committee member; Marco Laterza designated Audit Committee Financial Expert .
- Nominating Committee member .
- Compensation and Benefits Committee member .
- Attendance: Board met 4 times in 2024; no incumbent director attended fewer than 75% of Board and committee meetings; all directors attended the 2024 virtual Annual Meeting .
- Board leadership: CEO is also Chair; no Lead Independent Director (small board, independents carry responsibilities) .
- Committee activity (2024): Audit met 4 times ; Nominating met once ; Compensation and Benefits met twice .
- Other public company directorships: None; company discloses that no directors hold directorships in other reporting companies .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | 2023 (Actual Paid) | 2024 (Actual Paid) |
|---|---|---|
| Fees Earned or Paid in Cash ($) | $6,750 | $9,000 |
Director cash compensation structure:
- $2,000 per quarter cash retainer .
- Audit Committee non-chair member: additional $250 per quarter .
- Audit Committee chair: additional $500 per quarter (not indicated as held by Bigby) .
- 2023 structure transitioned on Oct 1, 2023 from per-meeting fees (earlier in 2023) to the quarterly retainer plus audit committee fees .
Performance Compensation
- Equity grants: The 2021 Stock Option Plan allows grants to non-employee directors, but at present there are no outstanding awards; company terminated unvested 2021 option grants in Dec 2022 and discloses “presently have no outstanding awards” under the plan .
- Performance metrics tied to director compensation: None disclosed; compensation is cash retainer plus committee fees without stated performance metrics .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Other public company boards | None disclosed; “No Directors hold Directorships in other reporting companies.” |
| Interlocks | None; company discloses no interlocking directors or executive officers with other companies |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Sector expertise: Healthcare services ownership and operations (hospitals, nursing homes) .
- Board contributions: Brings operator’s perspective from healthcare to product-focused RVP board; serves on Audit, Compensation and Benefits, and Nominating committees .
Equity Ownership
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Shares beneficially owned | 80,000 |
| Percent of class | <1% |
| Options (exercisable/unexercisable) | None listed in ownership table (no option footnote for Bigby) |
| Hedging/Pledging | Code prohibits short sales, derivatives, and hedging transactions generally; no pledging disclosed for Bigby |
Insider trades (Form 4):
| Transaction Date | Type | Shares | Price ($) | Shares Owned After | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-06-05 | Option-related (reported as “X-InTheMoney”) | 50,000 | 1.46 | 0 | |
| 2020-07-22 | Option-related (reported as “X-InTheMoney”) | 50,000 | 1.05 | 0 | |
| 2021-01-26 | Sale | 2,500 | 15.00 | 102,500 | |
| 2021-02-01 | Sale | 2,500 | 20.05 | 100,000 | |
| 2021-02-02 | Sale | 5,000 | 19.58 | 95,000 | |
| 2021-04-22 | Sale | 5,000 | 10.02 | 90,000 | |
| 2022-04-22 | Sale | 10,000 | 3.76 | 80,000 |
Note: Insider transaction records fetched programmatically from Form 4 using the insider-trades skill (more current than proxies).
Say-on-Pay & Shareholder Feedback
| Year | Proposal | For | Against | Abstain | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Advisory vote to approve NEO compensation | 16,522,241 | 5,679,446 | 54,810 | Approved (majority in favor) |
- Historical advisory votes: The company reports majorities in favor in 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2022 .
- 2023 director election: All nominees (Laterza, Mack, Findley) elected; tallied votes provided (informational context on governance support) .
Governance Assessment
- Strengths: Independent director serving on all three key committees (Audit, Compensation, Nominating); board discloses strong attendance and engagement; no other public company directorships or interlocks; code restricts hedging/derivatives, supporting alignment .
- Ownership alignment: Holds 80,000 shares (<1%); sustained stake as of the latest proxy; no pledging disclosed .
- Signals: Net seller in 2021–2022 via open market sales; no recent purchases disclosed; last reported balance 80,000 shares post-April 2022 [insider trade URLs above].
- Conflicts/related-party exposure: Owns/operates healthcare facilities that could be potential customers for medical devices; however, the company’s related-party transactions disclosure highlights only the CEO’s technology royalty; no related-party transactions involving Bigby are disclosed .
- Board risk context: CEO is Chair and majority beneficial owner; significant ongoing royalty to CEO on product sales may influence governance dynamics; absence of Lead Independent Director increases reliance on committee processes for oversight .