Sign in

You're signed outSign in or to get full access.

Lily Sarafan

Director at Serve Robotics Inc. /DE/
Board

About Lily Sarafan

Independent Class II director since December 4, 2024; age 43. She holds an M.S. in Management Science & Engineering and a B.S. in Science, Technology, & Society from Stanford University, and is designated by the Board as an audit committee financial expert based on experience. She serves on SERV’s Audit and Compensation Committees and is independent under Nasdaq rules. External boards include Instacart (Nasdaq: CART), Thumbtack, Kyo, and Stanford University’s Board of Trustees .

Past Roles

OrganizationRoleTenureCommittees/Impact
TheKeyCo-founder; CEO; Executive ChairCEO through Dec 2020; Executive Chair since thenGrew one of the largest in-home care networks; recognized EY Entrepreneur of the Year; Fortune 40 Under 40; Aspen Henry Crown Fellow

External Roles

OrganizationRoleTenureNotes
Instacart (Nasdaq: CART)DirectorCurrentPublic company directorship; grocery/on-demand delivery adjacency
ThumbtackDirectorCurrentPrivate company
KyoDirectorCurrentPrivate company
Stanford UniversityBoard of TrusteesCurrentNon-profit/academic governance

Board Governance

  • Independence: Board determined Sarafan (and certain others) are independent under Nasdaq and SEC rules; only CEO (Kashani) and COO (Parang) are non-independent .
  • Committees: Audit Committee (Goldberg – Chair; Sarafan; Vincent); Sarafan is an audit committee financial expert; Compensation Committee (Vincent – Chair; Sarafan); Nominating & Governance Committee (Goldberg – Chair) .
  • Attendance: FY2024 Board met 7 times; Audit 6; Compensation 3; Nominating/Governance 0. Each incumbent director except Sarfraz Maredia attended at least 75% of Board and applicable committee meetings (Sarafan joined Dec 2024) .
  • Election signal: Re-elected June 12, 2025; votes “For” 15,855,432; Withheld 153,861; broker non-votes 17,939,805 .

Fixed Compensation

ComponentStructureAmount/Terms
Annual Board Cash RetainerFixed cash$20,000 per year
Committee Member Cash RetainerFixed cash$5,000 per committee per year (Audit, Compensation, Nominating & Governance)
Meeting FeesNot disclosedNone disclosed
Director Equity (Annual)RSUs20,000 RSUs at each annual meeting, vest earlier of 1-year from grant or next annual meeting; pro-rated for partial quarters; grant delayed absent an effective S-8
DirectorFY2024 Cash Fees ($)FY2024 Stock Awards ($)Notes
Lily Sarafan2,201173,60020,000 RSUs granted Dec 4, 2024; scheduled to vest in full at earlier of next annual meeting or Dec 4, 2025

Performance Compensation

Equity AwardGrant DateUnitsGrant Date Fair Value ($)Vesting SchedulePerformance Metrics
Annual Director RSUsDec 4, 202420,000173,600Vest in full at earlier of next annual meeting or Dec 4, 2025Time-based; no performance criteria disclosed for directors
2023 Plan Performance Goals (for eligible awards)Examples
Permissible metrics under 2023 Plan (company-wide or unit)Revenue, operating income, EBITDA, net income, gross margin, operating margin, ROA/ROE, free cash flow, stock price/TSR, EPS, project milestones, financing, cost targets, etc. Director RSUs are time-based (no metrics applied) .
  • Change-in-control terms: For non-employee directors in continuous service until immediately prior to a change in control, any unvested director equity vests in full immediately prior to and contingent upon closing .

Other Directorships & Interlocks

CompanyTypePotential Interlock/Conflict
Instacart (CART)Public; grocery/on-demand deliveryOverlapping sector relationships (on-demand delivery); no SERV Item 404(a) transactions for Sarafan disclosed .
Thumbtack; KyoPrivateNo SERV related-party transactions disclosed .
Stanford UniversityNon-profitNot a commercial conflict .

Expertise & Qualifications

  • Recognitions: EY Entrepreneur of the Year; Fortune 40 Under 40; Women Health Care Executives’ Woman of the Year; Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellow .
  • Financial expertise: Audit committee financial expert designation by the Board .
  • Domain experience: Entrepreneurship and operating leadership in home services and on-demand delivery; relevant to SERV’s expansion strategy in robotics-enabled delivery .

Equity Ownership

DateOwnership DetailSharesNotes
April 14, 2025Beneficial ownership38,40218,402 common + 20,000 RSUs vesting within 60 days; <1% of outstanding .
June 23, 2025Form 4 – RSU settlement (Award)+20,000Transaction type “A” (award/grant) of 20,000 common; post-transaction beneficial ownership 58,402 shares; direct ownership .
  • Hedging/Pledging: Company prohibits hedging transactions for directors and employees; pledging not explicitly addressed in policy disclosure. No pledging disclosed for Sarafan .

Governance Assessment

  • Strengths: Independent director; Audit and Compensation committee member; designated audit committee financial expert; strong vote support in 2025 election (15.86M “For” vs 0.15M withheld); anti-hedging policy and Dodd-Frank-compliant clawback adopted Oct 2, 2023 .
  • Alignment: Director compensation mix is modest cash retainer plus annual RSUs; beneficial ownership increased upon RSU vesting (now 58,402); ownership remains <1% but aligned via annual equity grants .
  • Watch items: Change-in-control acceleration of unvested director equity (common in small-cap tech but can be shareholder-sensitive); external board at Instacart may create sector adjacency—monitor for any commercial relationships or information-sharing risks; Board attendance benchmark noted, but Lily joined late in FY2024 (ensure continued engagement) .
  • No related-party transactions: 8-K appointment explicitly states no Item 404(a) transactions involving Sarafan; reduces conflict risk .

Director Compensation – Policy and Actuals

MetricValueNotes
Annual Board Cash Retainer20,000Paid quarterly in arrears .
Committee Cash Retainer (per committee)5,000Audit/Comp/Nominating each 5,000 .
Annual Director RSU Grant20,000Vest earlier of next annual meeting or 1-year; pro-rated if partial year; grant delayed absent effective S-8 .
Lily Sarafan FY2024 Cash Fees2,201Pro-rated for late-2024 appointment .
Lily Sarafan FY2024 Stock Awards173,60020,000 RSUs granted Dec 4, 2024 .

Related Policy Disclosures

  • Anti-hedging: Directors prohibited from hedging Company stock .
  • Rule 10b5-1: Directors may adopt compliant trading plans; sales may occur around significant events under plan rules .
  • Clawback: Compensation Recovery Policy adopted Oct 2, 2023 in line with SEC/Nasdaq rules .
  • Compensation committee independence & processes: Independent members; sole authority to engage advisors; oversight of director pay .

RED FLAGS

  • Change-in-control acceleration of director equity (full vesting) could be viewed as shareholder-unfriendly by some governance frameworks .
  • Sector overlap via Instacart board; monitor for interlocks or transaction exposure (none disclosed to date) .

Signals supportive of investor confidence

  • Strong re-election vote in 2025; audit financial expert designation; independent committee roles; anti-hedging and clawback policies in place .