Adam Rice
About Adam Rice
Adam Rice, age 44, has served as SWK Holdings’ Chief Financial Officer since July 1, 2024; his employment agreement became effective March 7, 2025 . He is a CPA (Texas) with BA and MS in Accounting from Texas Tech University, and previously held senior finance roles at Park Cities Asset Management, Mr. Cooper Group, Invesco Real Estate, and Ernst & Young . Company performance disclosures show SWK’s TSR index decreased from 121.82 (2023) to 110.22 (2024), with net income of $16 million (2023) and $13 million (2024) .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| SWK Holdings | Chief Financial Officer | Jul 2024–present | Principal financial and accounting officer; oversight of finance and reporting |
| Independent consulting | Fractional CFO | Nov 2023–Jun 2024 | Provided CFO services to multiple companies |
| Park Cities Asset Management | Chief Financial Officer | Dec 2019–Nov 2023 | Oversaw business and fund operations, including accounting, finance, treasury, and debt covenant reporting/compliance |
| Park Cities Asset Management | Director of Finance | Jul 2019–Dec 2019 | Finance leadership supporting operations |
| Mr. Cooper Group (FKA Nationstar Mortgage) | VP Corporate FP&A | Nov 2017–Jul 2019 | Led corporate FP&A at a top U.S. mortgage servicer |
| Mr. Cooper Group | Finance roles (progressive) | Mar 2013–Nov 2017 | Increasing responsibility across corporate finance |
| Invesco Real Estate | Finance roles | ~2007–2013 | Six years in real estate investment finance |
| Ernst & Young | Assurance & Advisory | Early career | Began accounting career in audit/advisory |
External Roles
No public-company directorships or external board roles are disclosed in the Executive Officers section of the proxy reviewed .
Fixed Compensation
| Year | Base Salary Rate ($) | Target Bonus (% of Salary) | Actual Bonus Paid ($) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 302,500 | 60% | — (none) |
| 2025 (per Employment Agreement) | 311,575 | 60% | — (not disclosed) |
Performance Compensation
Equity Awards (grants, values, vesting)
| Year | Award Type | Grant Date | Number of Shares | Grant-Date Fair Value ($) | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Restricted Stock | Jul 3, 2024 | 6,072 | 100,000 | 25% on each of the first four anniversaries of Jul 3, 2024 (i.e., Jul 3, 2025–2028) |
| 2025 | Stock Award (Plan benefits) | — (not disclosed) | 9,175 | 150,011 | Terms per award agreement under the 2010 Plan (not detailed in proxy) |
Annual Bonus Plan (structure)
| Component | Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting/Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CFO Annual Cash Bonus | Corporate performance goals (not itemized in proxy) | Not disclosed | 60% of base salary | Not disclosed for 2025; no bonus for 2024 | Discretionary and performance-based | Annual, subject to Compensation Committee determination |
The 2010 Plan permits performance-based awards using factors such as revenue growth, EPS, operating income, net income, TSR, ROE, operating cash flow returns, and company-specific operational metrics; Adam Rice’s 2024 grant was time-based restricted stock rather than a performance share .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership (shares) | 15,247 | As of Apr 22, 2025; less than 1% of outstanding |
| Shares outstanding (reference) | 12,269,561 | Record date Apr 22, 2025 |
| Ownership as % of outstanding | ~0.12% (15,247 ÷ 12,269,561) | Computed from disclosed values |
| Unvested restricted stock units | 6,072 | Market value $96,900 at $15.96/share (12/31/2024) |
| Options (exercisable/unexercisable) | None disclosed for Rice | CEO holds options; Rice does not |
| Stock ownership guidelines | Not disclosed | No executive ownership multiple stated in proxy |
| Pledging/Hedging | Insider trading policy exists; pledging mechanics appear in Plan for promissory note purchases; no Rice-specific pledging disclosed |
Vesting cadence suggests potential share delivery events of ~25% of 6,072 (~1,518 shares) annually on Jul 3, 2025–2028, subject to continued employment .
Employment Terms
| Term | Details |
|---|---|
| Agreement effective date | Mar 7, 2025 |
| Base salary | $311,575 initial rate |
| Annual bonus | Target 60% of base salary |
| Annual equity | Target grant-date fair value ~33% of base salary (form/terms at Compensation Committee discretion) |
| Benefits | Participation in standard employee plans/programs |
| Severance (general) | Accrued amounts upon cessation of employment |
| Change-in-control severance (double-trigger; termination by Company within 1 year post-CIC) | Accrued amounts; 6 months of base salary; waiver/reimbursement of COBRA for up to 6 months; payment of prior-year earned but unpaid bonus; plus an amount equal to 50% of prior-year bonus |
| Release requirement | Severance contingent on timely execution and non-revocation of release |
| Restrictive covenants | Confidentiality/IP assignment; non-compete and non-solicit during employment and for 12 months thereafter |
| Clawback | Compensation Recovery Policy covering incentive comp tied to financial reporting measures in the event of material restatement, adopted Nov 15, 2023 |
Illustrative CIC severance quantum (if applicable): 6 months of $311,575 base salary = $155,788; plus up to 6 months COBRA; plus any earned/unpaid prior-year bonus; plus 50% of prior-year bonus (amount depends on actual bonus) .
Governance and Compensation Context
- Controlled company: Carlson Capital affiliates beneficially own ~72.6% of outstanding common stock; company avails itself of Nasdaq controlled company exemptions (e.g., Compensation and Nominating Committees not fully independent in 2024) .
- Compensation Committee in 2024: Members Albright, Hatcher, and Pennington (Chair; resigned Oct 1, 2024); Committee met twice .
- Say-on-Pay (2025): Approved with votes For 10,385,696; Against 420,203; Abstain 90,412; Broker non-votes 385,315 (≈95.8% approval of votes cast) .
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance alignment: Rice’s cash bonus targets “corporate performance goals” but specific metrics and weightings are not disclosed; 2024 equity grant is time-based restricted stock rather than a performance share, indicating retention-focused design over explicit metric-driven payout .
- Retention/termination economics: Double-trigger CIC severance is modest (six months salary plus COBRA and 50% of prior-year bonus), reducing change-of-control windfall risk while providing transition support; restrictive covenants (12-month non-compete/non-solicit) strengthen retention and protect IP/customer relationships .
- Ownership alignment: Beneficial ownership of 15,247 shares (~0.12% of outstanding) with unvested RSUs (6,072) provides tangible, but relatively small, direct alignment; absence of options and lack of disclosed ownership guidelines limit leverage to upside optionality .
- Governance risk: Controlled company status and historical non-independent composition of the Compensation Committee may reduce external checks on executive pay design; nonetheless, shareholders supported Say-on-Pay in 2025 (~95.8% approval) .
- Trading/flow considerations: RSU vesting dates (Jul 3, 2025–2028) can create periodic supply; executives often sell at vest to cover taxes/liquidity needs—monitor Form 4s near these dates for potential insider selling pressure .
Citations:
Values retrieved from S&P Global: None.