Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers
On January 19, 2023, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Evercore Inc. (the “Company”) appointed Timothy LaLonde as its Chief Financial Officer, effective March 6, 2023. Mr. LaLonde will succeed Celeste Mellet, who is leaving Evercore in early February to pursue a different area of finance, as previously announced. In his new role, Mr. LaLonde will oversee Evercore’s financial, tax, internal audit, investor relations, information technology, and facilities functions and will also continue to serve as a member of Evercore’s Management Committee. Evercore appointed Paul Pensa, its controller, as interim Chief Financial Officer, effective upon Ms. Mellet’s departure, and he will continue in that role until Mr. LaLonde transitions out of his current role and his appointment becomes effective.
Pursuant to his employment agreement, Mr. LaLonde will receive total compensation of $6.5 million for fiscal year 2023, including an annual base salary of $500,000. The total compensation will be payable to Mr. LaLonde as severance benefits should he be terminated by the Company without cause or resign for good reason, each as defined in his employment agreement. There are no related-party transactions in which Mr. LaLonde or any of his immediate family members has an interest that would require disclosure under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.
Mr. LaLonde, age 61, joined the Company in 2001 and currently serves as Co-Head of the U.S. Advisory business and holds several other global senior leadership roles around the firm. Over the past 22 years, Mr. LaLonde has been an integral part of Evercore’s leadership, driving the firm’s successful growth. Mr. LaLonde has over 33 years of experience in the investment banking industry and served clients for the first 20 years as an investment banker. He received his B.S.B. from the University of Minnesota; he received a M.Sc. from the London School of Economics and MBA from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College.
Mr. Pensa will serve as interim Chief Financial Officer under his existing compensation arrangements, including an annual base salary for 2023 of $400,000. There are no related-party transactions in which Mr. Pensa or any of his immediate family members has an interest that would require disclosure under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K. Mr. Pensa, 64, is a senior managing director and Evercore’s principal accounting officer. He is also the financial and operations principal for the Company’s U.S. broker-dealer, Evercore Group LLC. Mr. Pensa was previously a managing director and the deputy controller at the Bank of New York Mellon. Before that, he served as a managing director responsible for global regulatory and financial reporting and accounting policy assurance at Credit Suisse First Boston. He started his career as an auditor at KPMG. Mr. Pensa received an MBA in finance from Pace University. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants.
The above description of Mr. LaLonde’s employment is qualified in its entirety by reference to the copy of his employment agreement filed herewith as Exhibit 10.1 and incorporated herein by reference. The full text of the press release announcing Mr. LaLonde’s appointment is filed herewith as Exhibit 99.1.