Lorenzo De Plano
About Lorenzo De Plano
Chief of Strategy at Turning Point Brands since 2022; age 30; B.S. in Film and Entrepreneurship from the University of Southern California. Joined TPB when he sold his company, Solace Technologies, to TPB in 2019; subsequently led the relaunch of the Zig-Zag brand, managed development of FRE, and ran New Ventures and product development (2019–2022) . Company performance context during his tenure: FY2024 net income $39.809 million and adjusted EBITDA $104.459 million; a hypothetical $100 investment in TPB would be worth $229 at the end of the disclosed period (company TSR measure) .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turning Point Brands | Chief of Strategy | 2022–present | Oversees long-term strategic plan, corporate reorganization initiatives, and M&A |
| Turning Point Brands | Head, New Ventures & Product Development | 2019–2022 | Led Zig-Zag brand relaunch and managed development of FRE; operational product leadership |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solace Technologies | Owner (sold to TPB) | pre-2019 | Built and exited to TPB, catalyzing entry and subsequent leadership track at TPB |
Fixed Compensation
- Not disclosed in the proxy for non-NEO executives like De Plano; TPB’s NEO base salaries are set and reviewed annually by the Compensation Committee, but De Plano is not a named executive officer in the filing .
Performance Compensation
- Company program design (applies enterprise-wide, including executives):
- Annual cash bonus under the Management Bonus Program: driven by Board assessment of company financial results and individual performance; targets set as a % of base salary for NEOs; specific metrics and targets for non-NEOs are not disclosed .
- Long-term equity: RSUs (time-based) and PRSUs (performance-based). Since 2023, RSUs vest over three years (33% per year), and PRSUs vest based on cumulative adjusted EBITDA growth over a three-year period (20%/20%/60% across anniversaries upon achievement); earlier PRSUs tied to ROIC over five years .
| Incentive Type | Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Bonus | Company financial and individual performance | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Cash; annual cycle |
| PRSUs | Cumulative adjusted EBITDA growth | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Vests 20%/20%/60% over 3 years upon achievement |
| RSUs | Time-based service | Not disclosed | N/A | N/A | N/A | Vests 33% per year over 3 years |
Clawback applies to all executive officers: adopted Oct 30, 2023; company must seek recoupment of incentive-based compensation (cash or equity) upon an accounting restatement due to material noncompliance with financial reporting requirements .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Pledging/Hedging: Insiders (including executive officers) are prohibited from pledging TPB securities without Audit Committee Chair consent; margin purchases, short sales, and option transactions in TPB stock are prohibited .
- Deferred compensation: Executives are eligible to participate in TPB’s Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plan (2024), allowing deferrals up to 80% of base salary/bonus and up to 100% of RSUs/PSUs; employer credits may be discretionary and subject to vesting .
Beneficial Ownership and Transactions
| Data Point | Mar 13, 2024 | Jun 17, 2024 | Mar 3, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filing | Form 3 | Form 4 buy | Form 4 sell |
| Transaction Type | Initial ownership report | Purchase | Sale |
| Shares Transacted | N/A | 4,000 | 2,288 |
| Price ($/share) | N/A | 31.80 | 70.34 |
| Reported RSUs | 8,523 | N/A | N/A |
| Reported Common Shares | 7,809 | N/A | N/A |
| Beneficially Owned After | N/A | 34,896 | 39,175 |
| Ownership % of SO | N/A | N/A | ~0.22% (39,175 / 17,760,758 SO on 3/7/2025) |
Notes: Form 3 explanation states the total reported includes 8,523 RSUs and 7,809 common shares at initial filing . Subsequent transaction data and beneficial totals per Form 4s and aggregator sources as cited above.
Vesting Schedules and Insider Selling Pressure
- RSU vest cadence (33% annually over three years) and PRSU performance tranches (20%/20%/60%) can create periodic share deliveries, often followed by tax-related or portfolio rebalancing sales by executives. De Plano’s March 3, 2025 sale of 2,288 shares at $70.34 is small relative to holdings, and follows a 2024 open-market purchase of 4,000 shares at $31.80—net indicating accumulation over the period .
Employment Terms
- No individual employment agreement or severance/change-of-control terms are disclosed in the proxy for De Plano; executive officers serve at the discretion of the Board . Company-wide policies that apply to executive officers include the clawback (above), securities trading policy (pledging/hedging prohibitions) , and eligibility for the Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plan .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Ownership of ~39K shares and participation in RSU/PRSU programs tie De Plano’s economics to stock performance and adjusted EBITDA growth, consistent with TPB’s design to promote pay-for-performance and an ownership mentality .
- Trading signals: The 4,000-share buy at $31.80 (Jun 2024) followed by a modest 2,288-share sale at $70.34 (Mar 2025) suggests opportunistic accumulation and routine liquidity management rather than persistent selling pressure .
- Retention risk: Lack of disclosed individual employment/severance terms introduces limited visibility; however, enterprise policies (NQDCP eligibility, clawback, LTI awards) and his strategic remit (M&A, brand development) point to high internal relevance and embedded value creation history .
- Governance/Shareholder posture: Company-wide say‑on‑pay support was strong (96.6% approval in 2024), and enterprise performance (FY2024 adjusted EBITDA $104.459m; TSR context) underpins credibility of incentive frameworks that likely apply to his awards .