The 8-K Shuffle: Chiefs Out, Boards Reshaped, Pay Rewritten

Departures, stated plainly

The Andersons notified Sarah J. Zibbel that her position as executive vice president and chief human resources officer is being eliminated, with her employment terminating on October 31, 2026. She is entitled to benefits under the company's change-in-control and severance policy, will retain her outstanding restricted stock units, and is eligible for a pro-rated portion of 2024 performance share units based on actual performance through 2026, while her 2025 and 2026 performance share units will be forfeited. At AMASS, Zachary Ament resigned as an officer effective November 16, 2026, and Geoffrey McFarlane was appointed interim officer effective November 17, 2026. m:…0669 m:…1743

Another chief-level exit followed the same pattern of a stated effective date and a stated reason. Howard Hughes Holdings and Elena Verbinskaya mutually agreed to terminate her employment as a chief officer, effective March 5, 2027, with Verbinskaya continuing to serve through that date, and the filing states the departure is not due to disagreements over accounting principles, practices, or internal controls. m:…9180

The sharpest filing in the wave came from Ardent Health. Martin J. Bonick's employment as president and chief officer ended effective June 2, 2026, and he entered a separation agreement and general release on June 26, 2026 that provided severance benefits consistent with a termination without cause. On October 19, 2026, the board determined that facts discovered after the separation date would have given the company grounds to terminate Bonick for cause. The filing does not describe those facts, and the distinction matters because the separation terms had been set on the without-cause basis. m:…7899

Boards reshaped at the same time

Board changes ran alongside the executive exits. Macy's said Paul C. Varga notified the company of his decision to resign from the board, effective December 11, 2026, and that the resignation was not due to any disagreement with the company, the board, or management. Deirdre P. Connelly was elected to succeed Varga as lead director effective December 12, 2026, and the board fixed the number of directors at nine effective December 11. SiTime took the opposite approach to a vacancy: Katherine E. Schuelke resigned as a Class III director effective October 20, 2026, a resignation the filing states was not the result of a disagreement with the company or the board, and the board reduced its size from nine to eight members the same day, with Schuelke also leaving the nominating and corporate governance committee and the compensation and talent committee. m:…4327 m:…1919

Vivid Seats expanded instead. The company increased its board from eight to nine members on October 20, 2026, and elected Chelsea Grayson as a Class II director effective that day, with her term expiring at the 2029 annual meeting of stockholders. Grayson will receive a monthly cash fee of $40,000, and the board does not expect her to serve on any standing committees. Civista Bancshares added to both of its boards, appointing Jeremy Normington-Slay to the boards of Civista Bancshares and Civista Bank effective October 21, 2026. m:…9584 m:…2819

Pay plans rewritten

Freshpet paired a promotion with a detailed pay package. Nicola Baty was appointed president effective October 21, 2026, while continuing to serve as a chief officer, with an annual base salary of $675,000, an annual target bonus opportunity of at least 80% of base salary, and an annual target opportunity for long-term equity incentive programs of at least 250% of base salary. She was granted 58,245 restricted stock units under the 2024 Equity Incentive Plan, vesting in full on June 30, 2029. Myers Industries rewrote the downside instead: its amended and restated officer severance plan, adopted October 22, 2026, includes target bonus in cash severance calculations outside change-in-control periods, raises the CEO's cash severance multiplier during a change in control from 2.5x to 3x, and introduces a new 2x multiplier tier for the executive leadership team during a change in control, with Aaron Schapper, Samantha Rutty, Kari Brashear, and Lorelei Evans eligible to participate. m:…2834 m:…5727

AMASS added a capital-structure footnote to its transition. Alongside the officer change, the company reduced the conversion floor price for its Series C convertible preferred stock from $4.00 per share to $1.00 per share, eliminated the $0.75 per share minimum threshold on the market price for that stock, and terminated a warrant to purchase 3,500,000 shares of common stock held by Streeterville Capital, effective October 22, 2026, with no payment due from the company in connection with the termination. Read together, the week's filings show leadership change arriving in several forms at once: roles eliminated, boards resized in both directions, and severance and equity terms reset for the people who remain. m:…1743