Anne S. Ellefson
About Anne S. Ellefson
Anne S. Ellefson, 70, is an independent Class III director of Southern First Bancshares, Inc., serving on the board since 2001. She is an attorney who retired in 2020 as Vice President–Deputy General Counsel at Prisma Health (formerly Greenville Health System), after practicing at Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A. from 1979 to 2013; she holds a BA (1976) and JD (1979) from the University of South Carolina .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prisma Health (Greenville Health System) | Vice President–Deputy General Counsel | 2014–2020 | Senior legal leadership at major regional health system |
| Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A. | Shareholder (Attorney) | 1979–2013 | Real estate specialization; long-term legal practice |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verdae Development, Inc. | Chair | Current | Local real estate development leadership; community impact |
| Greenville Local Development Corporation | Director | Current | Economic development participation |
| Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce | Past Chair | Prior | Local business chamber leadership |
| United Way of Greenville County | Past Chair | Prior | Community leadership |
| South Carolina Chamber of Commerce | Former Director | Prior | State business leadership |
| South Carolina Bar | Board of Governors; Past President | Prior | Legal profession governance |
| South Carolina Educational Television Endowment | President | Prior | Nonprofit leadership |
| South Carolina Technology & Aviation Center (SCTAC) | Chair | Prior | Industrial development oversight |
| Hollingsworth Fund | Former Chair | Prior | Philanthropy governance |
| South Carolina Bar Foundation | Past President | Prior | Legal foundation leadership |
Board Governance
- Independence: The board determined Anne S. Ellefson is independent under NASDAQ standards .
- Committee assignments: Compensation Committee Chair; Audit Committee member; Board member .
- 2024 meeting cadence: Board (9), Audit (6), Compensation (2) .
- Attendance: All directors attended at least 75% of aggregate board and applicable committee meetings in 2024; all then-serving directors attended the 2024 Annual Meeting .
- Board structure: The board has transitioned to annual elections following shareholder approval in 2023 to declassify; all eight directors elected to one-year terms at the 2025 meeting .
- Board leadership: Independent Chair (James B. Orders, III) separate from CEO .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | 2024 Detail |
|---|---|
| Monthly retainer (cash) | $2,500 per month |
| Per-meeting fee (board and committees) | $1,200 per meeting |
| Chair premium | $500 per meeting (board/committee chairs) |
| Total cash fees earned (2024) | $51,400 |
Performance Compensation
| Item | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Equity compensation (directors) | Non-employee directors received cash fees only; no additional equity compensation disclosed for 2024 |
| Stock options (directors) | None outstanding for non-employee directors at 12/31/2024 |
| Stock ownership guidelines | The board has not implemented stock ownership guidelines for directors or named executive officers |
| Clawback policy (context for comp oversight) | Incentive Compensation Recovery Policy effective Nov 21, 2023; recovery from restatements (“Big R” and “little r”) regardless of misconduct |
| Hedging/pledging policy | Hedging prohibited; short sales prohibited; pledging discouraged and requires preclearance |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
- Compensation Committee interlocks: None; no committee member (including Ellefson) was an officer/employee; no Item 404 relationships; no reciprocal compensation committee interlocks reported .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Legal and real estate expertise, with extensive leadership in local and state chambers and development organizations, providing insights into key SFST markets .
- Compensation governance: Serves as Compensation Committee Chair; committee met twice in 2024 and oversees executive compensation risk alignment and use of advisors .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Shares Owned | Right to Acquire (60 days) | % Outstanding | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anne S. Ellefson | 6,712 | – | 0.08% (of 8,169,163 shares) | No pledge footnote disclosed for Ellefson; company prohibits hedging and discourages pledging with preclearance |
Governance Assessment
- Committee leadership and independence: As Compensation Committee Chair and Audit Committee member, Ellefson strengthens independent oversight of pay and financial reporting . Attendance thresholds were met across the board in 2024, supporting engagement quality .
- Compensation structure: Director pay is entirely cash-based with meeting-driven increments; no equity grants for non-employee directors in 2024, and no director ownership guidelines—potentially limiting structural equity alignment versus peers, though the company asserts directors’ financial interests are aligned and enforces strict hedging/pledging prohibitions .
- Shareholder signals: Say-on-pay support was 73.7% in 2024, and the 2025 advisory vote on executive compensation passed with 5,540,020 votes for vs. 1,069,591 against; shareholders favored annual say-on-pay frequency (6,262,557 votes) .
- Conflicts and related-party exposure: No Item 404 related-party transactions disclosed for Ellefson; the proxy describes ordinary-course banking with directors under market terms and recusal policies; a disclosed real estate lease involves another director (Cothran) with market-rate payments . Given SFST’s headquarters at 6 Verdae Boulevard and Ellefson’s role as chair of Verdae Development, investors may monitor for any real estate-related transactions; none are disclosed in the proxy .
- Red flags: None identified for Ellefson—no Section 16(a) delinquency, no hedging/pledging issue disclosed, no related-party transactions requiring disclosure, and no committee interlocks .