Alexandre Ruberti
About Alexandre Ruberti
Independent director at Zevia PBC since August 2024; age 49. Ruberti brings 25 years of consumer-packaged goods experience, primarily beverages across the Americas, with senior leadership roles at Red Bull North America and Latin America, Future Farm, and Waterdrop. He holds an MBA from Fundação Getulio Vargas and a BBA from Universidade de Sorocaba, and his current term expires in 2027 .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waterdrop® | Managing Director, Americas; General Manager, USA | Apr 2024 – Dec 2024 | Led U.S. and Americas operations in functional hydration products |
| Future Farm | Chief Executive Officer | Feb 2021 – Dec 2023 | Led plant-based meat company through growth phase |
| Red Bull North America (RBNA) | President, Red Bull Distribution Company (RBDC) and Chief Commercial Officer | Apr 2019 – Jan 2021 | Commercial leadership; scaled distribution and revenue |
| Red Bull Distribution Company (RBDC) | President | Jul 2013 – Mar 2019 | Ran U.S. distribution organization |
| RBNA | Vice President, Profitability Management & On-Premise | Jan 2011 – Jun 2013 | Margin and on-premise channel optimization |
| Red Bull Latin America | Head of Sales, LatAm & Canada | Jul 2008 – Dec 2010 | Regional sales leadership |
| Red Bull Brazil | Head of Sales, Brazil | Jan 2005 – Jun 2008 | Country sales leadership |
| Coca-Cola Bottlers (Brazil) | Sales, Marketing & Distribution | ~9 years | Commercial roles across functions |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zico Rising, Inc. | Director | Current | Beverage board seat |
| Celsius Holdings, Inc. | Director; Compensation Committee member | Feb 2021 – Mar 2024 | Beverage peer; comp committee experience |
| Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) | Member | Current | Leadership network affiliation |
Board Governance
- Independence: Determined independent under NYSE rules; serves on the Compensation Committee .
- Committee assignments: Compensation Committee member; Compensation Committee met 6 times in 2024; Pearl Meyer engaged as independent consultant with no conflicts; committee members all independent .
- Attendance: Board met 7 times in 2024; each director attended at least 75% of Board and applicable committee meetings; independent directors held 7 executive sessions; Ruberti joined August 2024 .
- Board structure: Classified board (phasing out starting 2027); Lead Independent Director role held by Andy Ruben (Chair is not independent) .
- ESG oversight: Separate ESG Committee chaired by Andy Ruben; Rosemary Ripley member .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Structure | FY2024 Amount (Ruberti) |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Board Cash Retainer | $60,000 | $26,089 (pro-rated) |
| Committee Member Retainer (Compensation) | $7,500 annually; Chair $15,000 | Included in pro-rated cash |
| Equity: Annual RSU Grant | Target $100,000 grant-date fair value; vests on earlier of first anniversary or next annual meeting | $84,932 grant-date fair value; 84,091 RSUs granted on Aug 20, 2024 |
| Total FY2024 Director Pay | — | $111,021 |
- RSU vest timing for non-employee directors: earlier of first anniversary of grant or next annual meeting of stockholders .
- Indemnification agreements in place for all directors .
Performance Compensation
Directors do not receive performance-based pay; RSUs are time-based. As a Compensation Committee member, Ruberti oversaw executive annual bonus metrics for FY2024:
| Metric | Weight | Outcome | FY2024 Bonus Earned |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net Sales | 50% | Below threshold | No payouts (except guaranteed amounts for certain executives) |
| Adjusted EBITDA | 40% | Below threshold | No payouts (except guaranteed amounts for certain executives) |
| Qualitative Goals | 10% | Below threshold | No payouts (except guaranteed amounts for certain executives) |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Sector | Relationship to Zevia | Interlock/Conflict Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Celsius Holdings, Inc. | Beverages | Peer category | Served on compensation committee; no related-party transactions disclosed with Zevia since Jan 1, 2023 |
| Zico Rising, Inc. | Beverages | Broader beverage ecosystem | No related-party transactions disclosed |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Deep beverage and CPG leadership across Americas; distribution, commercial, and profitability management (Red Bull RBNA/RBDC) .
- CEO experience (Future Farm); U.S. GM and Americas MD (Waterdrop) .
- Public company board experience; comp committee service (Celsius) .
- Education: MBA (Fundação Getulio Vargas), BBA (Universidade de Sorocaba) .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Direct Shares | RSUs (counted if vest within 60 days of 4/16/2025) | Total Beneficial Ownership | % of Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexandre I. Ruberti | 10,000 | 84,091 | 94,091 | <1% |
- Stock ownership guidelines: Non-employee directors must hold 3x annual board cash retainer; company states all non-employee directors are compliant or on track, with 50% post-vest holding requirements until guideline met .
- Hedging/pledging: Prohibited for directors under Insider Trading Policy .
Governance Assessment
- Strengths:
- Independent director with relevant beverage distribution and commercial expertise; sits on Compensation Committee, reinforcing alignment with disciplined pay-for-performance (no FY2024 exec bonus payouts due to missed thresholds) .
- Ownership alignment via RSUs and director ownership guidelines; hedging/pledging prohibited .
- No related-party transactions disclosed since Jan 1, 2023; Section 16 compliance shows no late filings attributed to Ruberti .
- Watch items:
- Multiple external roles (historical and current) necessitate time-commitment oversight; board policies limit outside boards and audit committee memberships, and Nominating Committee annually reviews such commitments .
- Director equity is time-based RSUs (no performance conditions), which is standard but provides less direct performance linkage than PSUs; mitigated by ownership guidelines and committee oversight of executive performance metrics .
- Red flags:
- None identified in proxy disclosures regarding conflicts, related-party transactions, hedging/pledging, or attendance shortfalls; all directors met 75% attendance in FY2024 .