Doyle Renaas
About Doyle Renaas
Independent director at South Dakota Soybean Processors, LLC (SDSYA). Age 58; currently serving a term expiring in 2027. First joined the board in 2018 and previously served 2012–2016, reflecting multi-year board tenure and continuity. Farmer for ~40 years with an Associate’s degree in Agriculture from South Dakota State University (1992). External civic service includes director roles for Kingsbrook Rural Water and prior service with Rutland High School, Grace Church Council, and Clarno Township.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rutland High School | Director | Not disclosed | Community governance experience |
| Grace Church Council | Director | Not disclosed | Community governance experience |
| Clarno Township | Director | Not disclosed | Local public governance exposure |
External Roles
| Organization | Type | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kingsbrook Rural Water | Utility/Cooperative | Director | Current |
Board Governance
- Committee assignments: Member, Finance/Audit Committee; not a chair. The audit committee operates under a charter; chair is Craig Weber. The governance committee functions as the compensation committee; Renaas is not listed as a governance or nomination committee member.
- Independence: The company states all Finance/Audit members other than Brandon Hope and Craig Weber are independent under NASDAQ Rule 5605(a) and (c); this implies Renaas is considered independent. The issuer is exempt from exchange independence standards due to non-listed status.
- Attendance and engagement: Board held 10 regular meetings in FY2024; each board member attended at least 75% of board meetings and at least 75% of the committee meetings for which they were a member; all board members attended the 2024 Annual Meeting.
- Audit committee operations: Finance/Audit committee reviewed FY2024 audited financials, discussed PCAOB-required matters with Eide Bailly LLP, and recommended inclusion in the FY2024 Form 10-K. Committee roster includes Renaas.
| Governance Metric | FY 2024 |
|---|---|
| Board meetings held | 10 |
| Finance/Audit committee meetings held | 10 |
| Director attendance threshold met | ≥75% of board and relevant committee meetings (all directors) |
| Renaas committee membership | Finance/Audit |
| Committee chair roles | None for Renaas (Audit chair: Craig Weber) |
Fixed Compensation
| Name | Fees Earned or Paid in Cash ($) | Total ($) |
|---|---|---|
| Doyle Renaas | 9,600 | 9,600 |
- Policy detail: Cash-only board compensation; monthly stipend $300; per meeting fees: President $1,000, Secretary $800, other managers $600; $100 for each board/committee meeting held via conference call; travel reimbursed at IRS rates.
- No equity, options, non-equity incentives, deferred compensation, perquisites, or defined contribution plans for directors.
Performance Compensation
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Equity awards (RSUs/PSUs/Options) | None provided to directors |
| Non-equity incentive/bonus | None provided to directors |
| Deferred compensation | None provided to directors |
| Performance metrics tied to director pay | Not applicable (cash fees only) |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Entity | Public/Private | Role | Interlocks/Relationships |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kingsbrook Rural Water | Private/Utility | Director | No interlocking or family relationships disclosed among SDSYA managers/officers/nominees. |
- Company disclosure: No family or interlocking relationships exist between any board managers, officers, key employees, or nominees.
Expertise & Qualifications
- 40 years of agricultural operating experience; community governance background across local boards.
- Finance/Audit committee lacks a designated “financial expert” (producer-based agricultural entity context). This is a broader board competency disclosure rather than a Renaas-specific credential.
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Number of Votes Beneficially Owned | Number of Capital Units Beneficially Owned | Ownership Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doyle Renaas | 2 | 27,000 | Includes 7,000 units in Doyle Renaas Living Trust (trustee) and 20,000 units owned jointly with his mother. |
| Class A units outstanding (context) | — | 30,411,500 | As of May 1, 2025 (members: 2,234; one vote per member). |
| Managers & Executive Officers, as a group | — | 156,500 | 0.5% of outstanding units (group). |
- Ownership % per proxy: Each listed owner’s percentage does not exceed 1.5% of total units outstanding.
- Pledging/hedging: The company maintains an insider trading policy and policy regarding hedging governing board, officers, employees; policy filed as Exhibit 19.1 to FY2024 Form 10-K. No pledging or hedging by Renaas is disclosed.
Governance Assessment
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Independence and conflicts: Renaas is considered independent under NASDAQ Rule 5605 (issuer exempt from listing standards due to non-listed status). No related-person transactions disclosed involving Renaas; soybean purchase transactions in 2023–2024 were with Brandon Hope and Craig Weber, and the operating agreement requires disinterested majority approval with conflicted parties recused.
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Attendance and engagement: Meets minimum engagement thresholds (≥75% attendance); participated in Audit Committee oversight of FY2024 reporting and auditor independence.
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Compensation alignment: Cash-only director compensation ($9,600 in 2024 for Renaas) supports independence and reduces pay-related conflicts; no equity or incentive awards for directors. Ownership alignment exists via personal and trust holdings (27,000 units) though the company’s governance model provides one member-one vote rather than pro-rata voting by units.
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Committee effectiveness: Board-level Audit Committee (broad membership) met 10 times; lack of a designated “financial expert” is a governance quality consideration for financial reporting rigor. The governance committee serves as the compensation committee, which is common for small, producer-based organizations but may limit specialization in executive pay oversight.
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RED FLAGS and mitigants:
- RED FLAG: No audit “financial expert” designated on the Finance/Audit Committee. Mitigant: Active chartered committee with documented auditor independence discussions and PCAOB-required communications; Eide Bailly LLP engaged; pre-approval policy for non-audit services.
- Potential conflicts: Purchases from board members (Hope, Weber) were disclosed and handled under disinterested voting provisions; no such transactions disclosed for Renaas.
- Say-on-Pay: Advisory vote conducted; governance committee references prior member vote (2022) in pay-setting; current proxy does not disclose approval percentages.
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Overall view: For investors focused on governance risk, Renaas presents low conflict exposure (no related-party transactions; independence affirmed), satisfactory attendance, and tangible ownership alignment through unit holdings. Primary board-level governance concerns are structural (no compensation committee; no audit financial expert), not specific to Renaas; these may modestly affect investor confidence in oversight quality but are consistent with the producer-cooperative context disclosed by SDSYA.