Susan O'Farrell
About Susan O’Farrell
Independent Class I director at Savers Value Village (SVV) since October 2023; age 61. Former CFO, Principal Accounting Officer, and Treasurer at BlueLinx (2014–2020) with prior senior finance roles at The Home Depot (1999–2014). Holds a B.S. in Business Administration (Auburn University); completed Emory Goizueta Executive Leadership Program; earned the CERT Certificate in Cybersecurity Oversight (Carnegie Mellon). Designated “audit committee financial expert” and serves on SVV’s Audit Committee; Board has determined she is independent. Term runs through the 2027 annual meeting.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| BlueLinx Holdings Inc. | CFO, Principal Accounting Officer & Treasurer | 2014–2020 | Senior financial leadership of public distributor |
| The Home Depot | Senior financial executive (multiple roles) | 1999–2014 | Corporate finance leadership at large specialty retailer |
| Andersen Consulting (Accenture) | Consultant → Associate Partner | Through 1996 | Left in 1996 to join AGL Resources in strategic IS role |
| AGL Resources (now Southern Company Gas) | Strategic Information Systems role | Began 1996 | Transition from consulting to corporate role |
External Roles
| Company/Org | Ticker | Role | Since | Committee Roles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leslie’s, Inc. | LESL | Director | Oct 2020 | Audit Committee Chair |
| National Vision Holdings, Inc. | EYE | Director | Feb 2024 | Audit Committee member |
| International Women’s Forum – Georgia | — | Director | — | Non-profit board service |
| American Trailer World Corp. | — | Former Director | — | Prior board service |
Board Governance
- Committee assignments: Audit Committee member; Audit Committee chaired by Aina Konold; O’Farrell and Collver are members. O’Farrell is designated an “audit committee financial expert.”
- Independence: Board determined O’Farrell is independent under NYSE rules.
- Attendance: In FY2024, Board held 5 meetings; Audit Committee held 4. All directors attended at least 75% of Board and committee meetings; all directors attended the 2024 annual meeting.
- Board structure: SVV is a “controlled company” under NYSE rules (Ares Funds control); Audit Committee remains fully independent and oversees financial reporting and cybersecurity.
Fixed Compensation
| Component | FY2024 Amount/Policy | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual cash retainer (policy) | $80,000 | Non-employee directors (excluding Ares-affiliated directors) |
| Audit Chair retainer (policy) | $25,000 | Committee chair only (not applicable to O’Farrell) |
| Compensation Chair retainer (policy) | $15,000 | Committee chair only |
| Nominating Chair retainer (policy) | $12,000 | Committee chair only |
| Susan O’Farrell – Fees earned (FY2024) | $76,739 | Paid in cash |
| Meeting fees | None disclosed | Cash paid quarterly; no meeting fees disclosed |
Performance Compensation
| Component | FY2024 Amount/Policy | Vesting/Other Details |
|---|---|---|
| Annual equity retainer (policy) | $130,000 in RSUs | Time-based; vests at earlier of 1-year anniversary or next annual meeting; deferrable until separation |
| Susan O’Farrell – Stock awards (FY2024) | $129,987 | RSUs; grant-date fair value methodology disclosed |
| Director equity mechanics | No options granted to directors in FY2024 | RSU grant date value based on closing price; 2024 grant price $13.78 per RSU |
No director performance metrics are used; director equity is time-based RSUs, not performance-conditioned.
Other Directorships & Interlocks
- Current public boards: Leslie’s (Audit Chair) and National Vision (Audit Committee). These roles add deep retail and audit oversight experience. SVV guidelines allow Audit Committee members to serve on no more than two other public company audit committees; O’Farrell is at the guideline limit (two other audit committees).
Expertise & Qualifications
- Financial expert (SEC definition) with >35 years in finance/retail; former public-company CFO.
- Cybersecurity oversight credential (CERT) supporting Audit Committee’s cyber/data privacy oversight remit.
- Skills matrix: accounting & financial reporting, strategic planning & growth, risk management, IT & information security, senior executive service, other public board service.
Equity Ownership
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership (3/31/2025) | 5,969 shares; <1% of class (157,887,323 shares outstanding) |
| Outstanding director RSUs (as of FY2024 year-end) | 9,433 RSUs outstanding; O’Farrell elected to defer settlement until separation from Board service |
| Options | Footnotes list outstanding options for several directors; O’Farrell not listed among directors with outstanding options as of FY2024 year-end |
| Hedging/pledging | Prohibited for directors and officers by policy |
| Director ownership guidelines | 5× annual cash retainer; 5-year compliance window; includes unvested RSUs for guideline measurement |
Governance Assessment
- Strengths: Independent Audit Committee member and designated financial expert; extensive CFO/public company experience; CERT cybersecurity oversight credential aligned with Audit Committee cyber/data privacy oversight; stock ownership guidelines and anti-hedging/pledging enhance alignment.
- Workload/overboarding check: Serves on two other audit committees (Leslie’s, National Vision) while on SVV’s Audit Committee—this is the maximum permitted under SVV’s guideline (“no more than two other public company audit committees”); monitor bandwidth but within policy.
- Attendance/engagement: Met at least the 75% attendance threshold in FY2024; Board/committee cadence appears robust (Board 5; Audit 4).
- Compensation alignment: Majority of director pay in time-based RSUs with optional deferral; clear ownership guidelines reinforce long-term alignment.
- Conflicts/related party exposure: No related-party transactions involving O’Farrell disclosed; Audit Committee pre-approves related-party transactions; ordinary-course purchases by related persons deemed immaterial.
- Structural consideration: SVV is a “controlled company,” allowing exemptions for some independence requirements (not Audit); investors should consider sponsor influence, though Audit Committee independence and expertise are maintained.
RED FLAGS: None identified specific to O’Farrell (no pledging/hedging permitted; no related-party transactions disclosed). Overboarding risk is mitigated by compliance with the company’s audit committee service guideline (at the limit).