Christopher Whitaker
About Christopher Whitaker
Christopher Whitaker, 53, is SOBR Safe’s Chief Financial Officer (since January 2024) and, effective March 1, 2025, also Executive Vice President of Business Operations and Marketing. He joined SOBR in February 2022 as VP of Finance & Accounting; prior roles include President–Americas and VP of Finance & Administration at Elixinol, Managing Director at AEGIS Financial Consulting, and early career at KPMG. He is a CPA (since 2014) with a BS in Accounting from Metropolitan State University of Denver. Company performance context: value of a fixed $100 investment in SOBR fell to $1 in 2024 (from $5 in 2023, $11 in 2022), and net loss was $(8,609,156) in 2024 .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| SOBR Safe, Inc. | VP, Finance & Accounting | Feb 2022–Dec 2023 | Managed financial/accounting ops; supported public company reporting and corporate functions |
| Elixinol, Inc. | President – Americas; VP Finance & Administration | Feb 2020–Jun 2021 | Led finance/accounting; also marketing, sales, CPG development, IT and HR oversight |
| AEGIS Financial Consulting, LLC | Managing Director | Jan 2015–Jan 2020 | Led fractional CFO/financial consulting team across public/private clients |
| KPMG LLP (Denver) | Early career | Not disclosed | Foundation in audit/finance; start of 30-year finance career |
External Roles
No public company board seats or outside directorships for Mr. Whitaker are disclosed in SOBR’s proxy materials .
Fixed Compensation
| Metric | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Base Salary ($) | $225,000 | $225,000 |
| Actual Bonus Paid ($) | $0 | $0 |
Employment Agreement base salary from March 1, 2025: $255,000 (one-year term, auto-renew) .
Performance Compensation
| Component | Metric/Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual bonus plan (2025 onward) | Targets set by CEO; approved by Compensation Committee/Board (weighting not disclosed) | No less than 25% of base salary | Not disclosed (2025) | Not disclosed | Cash (no vesting) |
| Annual bonus (2024) | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | $0 | $0 | Cash |
Notes:
- Clawback: Agreement includes recoupment of compensation as required by law; companywide clawback adopted per Nasdaq Rule 10D-1 (Accounting Restatement trigger) .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Ownership snapshot | Oct 18, 2024 | Jun 20, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Common shares beneficially owned | 1,455 | 86 |
| Ownership % of shares outstanding | <1% (out of 921,949) | <1% (out of 1,516,145) |
| Vested/exercisable options | 1,091 vested/exercisable (exercise prices $52.80–$232.10) | 50 vested/exercisable (exercise prices $528–$2,321) |
| Hedging/pledging | Hedging prohibited; pre-clearance required; short sales prohibited; pledging not disclosed |
Outstanding awards (as of Dec 31, 2024):
| Instrument | Exercisable (#) | Unexercisable/Unearned (#) | Exercise Price Range ($) | Expiration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stock options | 110 | 87 (equity incentive unearned options) | $528–$2,321 | Feb 23, 2028–Nov 10, 2028 |
Observations:
- Options appear deeply out-of-the-money versus the June 20, 2025 Nasdaq official closing price of $3.01, indicating limited near-term exercise/selling pressure .
Employment Terms
- Term and renewal: Effective March 1, 2025 for one year; auto-renews in successive one-year terms unless either party gives 30 days’ notice .
- Base salary and bonus: $255,000 base for first calendar year; bonus no less than 25% of base; targets set by CEO and approved by Compensation Committee/Board; eligibility under 2019 Equity Incentive Plan and standard benefits .
- Non-compete/non-solicit: No competition during employment and for one year thereafter within company’s geographic area; one-year post-employment non-solicit of customers/employees for a competing business .
- Severance (termination without cause): 12 months of then-current base salary; accrued but unused vacation/sick time; earned but unpaid salary/bonus; acceleration of any unvested equity awards (automatic vesting); COBRA premium reimbursement for six months; subject to release of claims .
- Termination for cause: Limited payments (accrued items, COBRA premiums for six months, etc.); cause includes material breach, policy violations, unsatisfactory performance, failure to follow lawful instructions, felony conviction causing harm, fraud/dishonesty, moral turpitude, or breach of fiduciary duty; cure rights as specified .
- Change of control: All equity grants held by Mr. Whitaker vest and become exercisable per their terms upon a change of control as defined in the Agreement (single-trigger acceleration) .
- Clawback and indemnification: Clawback per law/Nasdaq Rule 10D-1; separate indemnification agreement effective May 5, 2025 with advancement of expenses .
- One-time cash payment: On Aug 7, 2025, SOBR paid $70,000 in cash compensation for past services to the CFO .
Compensation Committee Analysis
- Compensation Committee: Steven Beabout (Chair, Lead Independent Director), Ford Fay, and Sandy Shoemaker; all independent under Nasdaq rules .
- Advisory votes: Stockholders voted to conduct advisory say-on-pay every three years; next say-on-pay vote expected at 2027 annual meeting .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Historical compensation shows low variable pay (no bonus in 2023–2024) and small direct ownership; new agreement introduces a minimum 25% target bonus and single-trigger equity acceleration on change of control, which can dilute pay-for-performance alignment if metrics are not rigorous or disclosed .
- Retention risk: One-year term with auto-renew and 1x base salary severance on termination without cause plus equity acceleration and six months COBRA support suggest moderate retention protection; non-compete/non-solicit at one year provides post-departure safeguards .
- Selling pressure: Options carry exercise prices of $528–$2,321 vs. $3.01 stock price at June 20, 2025, implying deep out-of-the-money and low likelihood of near-term exercises; hedging is explicitly prohibited by policy, further reducing trading overhang from executive hedging .
- Governance: Independent, active Compensation Committee oversight and a formal clawback policy mitigate governance and pay risk; lack of disclosed performance metrics for bonuses limits transparency into pay-for-performance mechanics .
- Cash comp signal: The $70,000 cash payment for past services in Aug 2025 indicates reliance on cash compensation during a period of capital and operational transitions; monitor future disclosures for shifts in cash/equity mix .
Form 4 flow could not be retrieved due to an access error; we attempted to fetch insider transactions for “Christopher Whitaker” (SOBR) covering 2024–2025 but encountered an authorization failure. We relied on proxy and 8-K disclosures for ownership and award data.