Meg Ham
TRACTOR SUPPLY CO /DE/About Meg Ham
Meg Ham is an independent director of Tractor Supply Company (TSCO), serving since 2023. She is President of Food Lion (Ahold Delhaize USA) since 2014 and has announced her retirement effective end of May 2025, capping a 35-year tenure across Ahold Delhaize banners including Bottom Dollar Food, Food Lion, and Hannaford Bros. She served on the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition in 2023–2024; age 58. Core credentials: multi-decade operating leadership in grocery retail across store operations, merchandising, supply chain, and brand/format strategy.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food Lion (Ahold Delhaize USA) | President | 2014 – May 2025 (retirement announced) | Led 82,000 associates serving ~10M weekly customers across >1,100 stores; multi-banner leadership experience within Ahold Delhaize USA |
| Bottom Dollar Food (Ahold Delhaize USA) | Leader (former discount banner) | Not disclosed | Leadership roles in discount format operations/merchandising |
| Food Lion; Hannaford Bros. Co., LLC | Various executive roles (operations, merchandising) | Not disclosed | Broad-based retail ops and merchandising leadership |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition (U.S. federal advisory) | Member | 2023–2024 | Advisory committee promoting accessible healthy eating and physical activity |
Board Governance
- Status and tenure: Independent director; joined TSCO Board in 2023.
- Committee assignments: Member, Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee.
- Attendance and engagement: In 2024, each incumbent director attended at least 91% of combined Board and assigned committee meetings; Board held four regular and three additional meetings. Corporate Governance & Nominating Committee met four times.
- Board leadership and process: Independent Chair (Edna K. Morris); CEO and Chair roles are separated. Executive sessions for independent directors are scheduled at each regularly scheduled Board meeting.
- Independence: Board determined all directors other than the CEO, including Ms. Ham, are independent under Nasdaq rules.
- Annual meeting participation: All then-current directors attended the 2024 Annual Meeting.
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Board retainer (policy) | $95,000 | Increased from $85,000 for the 2024–2025 term to align with peer median. Cash retainers are paid quarterly; directors may elect stock in lieu of cash. |
| Committee member retainers (policy) | Corporate Governance & Nominating member: $10,000 | Chairs receive chair + member fees; independent Chair receives a flat $195,000 and no additional fees. |
| FY2024 Fees Earned (reported) | $95,000 | Ms. Ham elected to receive shares of TSCO common stock in lieu of her cash retainer. |
Performance Compensation
| Instrument | Value/Units | Vesting/Terms |
|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Annual RSU grant (reported) | $164,742 | Director RSUs granted at start of term, vest on 1-year anniversary; settlement may be deferred; number of RSUs determined using $54.03 closing price on May 7, 2024 (pre-grant), adjusted for dividend yield and 12/20/24 stock split. |
| Unvested RSUs at FY-end (reported) | 3,100 units | Time-based vesting; not performance-based. |
| Vested deferred RSUs at FY-end (reported) | 1,837 units | Settlement deferred under director election plan. |
Director equity is time-based (no performance metrics). RSUs align interests and are subject to stock ownership and deferral provisions.
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Current public company directorships | None. |
| Compensation committee interlocks | None for TSCO’s Compensation and Human Capital Committee in 2024. |
Expertise & Qualifications
- CEO/division president and senior C-suite experience; retail, technology/e-commerce, strategic planning/strategy, M&A, manufacturing/operations, supply chain, marketing/brand management, real estate.
- Brings deep operating expertise in grocery retail and customer insights; Board benefits cited include strategy, execution, and customer-centric operations experience.
Equity Ownership
| Metric | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Shares owned (beneficial) | 2,670 | As of March 21, 2025. |
| Unvested RSUs | 3,100 | Within 60 days of record date. |
| Vested deferred RSUs | 2,332 | Deferred settlement. |
| Total shares + equity equivalents | 8,102 | Less than 1% of class. |
| Director stock ownership guideline | 5x annual cash retainer within 5 years; all directors meet or are within initial compliance window. | |
| Hedging/pledging policy | Prohibits hedging and pledging of company stock by directors. |
Insider trades: No TSCO Form 4 transactions for “Meg Ham” were found between 2024-01-01 and 2025-11-20 using the insider-trades skill (Form 4 search).
Related-Party Transactions and Conflicts
- The company reports no related-party transactions requiring disclosure since the start of the last fiscal year (Item 404(a) screening).
- Corporate policy prohibits director hedging/pledging; service-on-other-boards limits and change-in-circumstances notifications are codified, reducing overboarding and conflict risks.
Say-on-Pay & Shareholder Feedback (Context)
- Say-on-Pay support at the 2024 Annual Meeting: 93.0%; committee took support as affirmation of pay program and made no changes in response.
Governance Assessment
- Strengths: Independent status; service on Corporate Governance & Nominating Committee; strong attendance culture (≥91% for each director in 2024); independent Chair with regular executive sessions; robust anti-hedging/pledging and stock ownership guidelines; no related-party transactions disclosed. Her election to receive stock in lieu of cash and director RSUs increases alignment with shareholders.
- Potential watch items: Relatively short TSCO board tenure (joined 2023) implies ongoing ramp-up; however, impending retirement from Food Lion (May 2025) could increase available capacity for Board work. No interlocks or conflicts identified.
Overall signal: Positive governance profile with strong alignment and low conflict risk; operational retail expertise is additive to TSCO’s strategy and oversight needs.