Steven France
About Steven France
Steven J. France is President, Packaged Meats at Smithfield Foods (SFD) and is one of the company’s named executive officers (NEOs) for FY2024 . In Q1 2025, Packaged Meats delivered adjusted operating profit of $266M with a 13.1% margin as the segment shifted mix toward higher-margin lunch meats and dry sausage; France highlighted share gains across lunch daypart categories and a +4pt ACV move in Q1 . He beneficially owns 7,500 SFD shares (<1%) . The company bans hedging and pledging of company stock and has a formal Rule 10b5-1 trading plan policy with cooling-off periods .
Past Roles
- Not disclosed in proxy/10-K. No executive biography details provided for Steven France.
External Roles
- Not disclosed.
Fixed Compensation
| Item | FY 2024 |
|---|---|
| Base Salary ($) | $1,000,000 |
| Target Annual Incentive (% of salary) | 400% |
| Discretionary Bonus Paid ($) | $2,500,000 (paid Q1 2025; subject to clawback on resignation/for-cause within 1–2 years) |
| Non-Equity Incentive Paid ($) | $3,770,000 |
| All Other Compensation ($) | $33,447 |
| 401(k) & Nonqualified Plan Contributions ($) | $21,835 |
| Leased Vehicle/Car Allowance ($) | $10,800 |
| Life Insurance Premiums ($) | $812 |
Discretionary bonus repayment terms: 50% repay if a repayment event occurs within 1 year post payment; 25% if >1 year but within 2 years .
Performance Compensation
Annual cash incentive design and metrics for FY2024:
| Metric | Weight | Threshold | Target | Stretch | Payout Mechanics | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Packaged Meats Segment Profit | 60% | 76% of plan ≈ 4% target payout | 100% payout at plan | No cap | For every 1.5% > target, France receives additional 0.012% of Segment Profit result | Cash (annual) |
| North America Net Income | 20% | $600M → 36% payout | $1,000M → 100% payout | >$1,000M | Above target: France earns 0.4% of the amount in excess of $1B | Cash (annual) |
| Packaged Meats Volume | 20% | ~91% of plan → 2.5% target payout | 100% payout at plan | No cap | For every ~0.4% > target, France receives additional $20,000 | Cash (annual) |
Actual FY2024 non-equity incentive payout to France: $3,770,000 . Packaged Meats Segment Profit and Volume target values/results are competitively sensitive and not disclosed .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Shares Beneficially Owned | 7,500 shares; <1% of outstanding |
| Equity Grants (IPO) | On Jan 27, 2025, SFD granted equity across employees and certain WH Group personnel: 50% RSUs and 50% stock options; options strike $20; both vest in equal annual installments over 5 years from grant date |
| NEO Aggregate Grants (IPO) | NEOs (collectively) received options to purchase 2,160,933 shares and 330,000 RSUs (grant-date value part of $30.0M total) |
| Individual Grant Detail | Not individually disclosed for France |
| Pledging/Hedging | Prohibited for executives and directors |
| Rule 10b5-1 Plans | Allowed with strict pre-approval and cooling-off periods (91+ days for officers/directors) |
| Clawback Policy | Nasdaq/SEC-compliant compensation recovery for erroneously awarded incentive comp upon restatements |
Pension and deferred compensation:
| Plan/Measure | Years of Credited Service | Balance/Value ($) |
|---|---|---|
| Salaried Pension Plan (PVAB) | 15.24 years | $489,130 |
| Supplemental Pension Plan (PVAB) | 18.24 years | $5,715,896 |
| Deferred Compensation Plan – Aggregate Earnings (2024) | n/a | $192,710 |
| Deferred Compensation Plan – Aggregate Balance (YE 2024) | n/a | $1,011,005 |
Employment Terms
- Employment Agreement: None; NEOs are covered by an Executive Severance Plan adopted at IPO .
- Severance (Qualifying Termination: involuntary without “cause” or resignation for “good reason”): 18 months base salary continuation; prorated bonus for year of termination based on actual performance; company subsidy of COBRA premiums up to 18 months .
- Change-in-Control Treatment:
- If termination within 2 months prior or within 2 years post a change in control, prorated bonus based on target .
- Outstanding awards vest in full upon death or change in control (single-trigger acceleration) under current award forms .
- Retirement or certain involuntary terminations without cause allow continued vesting per regular schedule for some awards .
- Restrictive Covenants: Participation conditioned on non-disclosure, non-compete, non-solicit, non-disparagement; compliance required for benefits .
- Clawback/Recoupment: Company-wide compensation recovery policy for incentive-based comp upon restatements; repayments are not indemnified .
- Insider Trading Policy: Prohibits hedging/pledging; permits pre-approved Rule 10b5-1 plans with cooling-off; broker reporting and compliance requirements .
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance alignment: France’s incentive mix is heavily tied to Packaged Meats Segment Profit (60%), North America Net Income (20%), and Packaged Meats Volume (20%), with uncapped upside above targets—supportive of value creation but can amplify payout variability vs. commodity cycles and pricing/formula lags . The strong Q1 2025 segment margin (13.1%) and category share gains validate current strategy focus on mix, price, and distribution .
- Retention risk: The 2024 discretionary bonus has a 1–2 year repayment clause, and IPO equity awards vest over five years—both positive for near-term retention; however, single-trigger change-in-control acceleration weakens longer-term retention and alignment in M&A scenarios .
- Ownership alignment: Personal share ownership is modest (7,500 shares), so long-term equity award accrual and vesting will be key to alignment; hedging/pledging prohibitions and formal 10b5-1 governance reduce misalignment and trading-risk optics .
- Trading signals: No disclosed 10b5-1 plan adoption or insider transactions for France; policy structures suggest any future sales would face cooling-off constraints and preclearance .
- Execution risk: Uncapped bonus formulas tied to segment profit and volume depend on sustaining mix optimization and operating efficiency while navigating raw input inflation, tariff-driven export shifts, and consumer trade-down—management reaffirmed 2025 outlook and Packaged Meats adjusted OP range ($1.05–$1.15B), but highlighted margin compression risk vs. prior year in Q2 .
Overall: Incentive design is tightly linked to the levers France controls (segment profit, volume, and mix), with robust governance (anti-hedge/pledge, clawback, 10b5-1). Equity vesting over five years and bonus repayment terms support retention; single-trigger CIC acceleration is a watch-out. Continued margin resilience in Packaged Meats and mix expansion will be primary drivers of payout realizations and compensation alignment.