US EditionEdward Smolyansky Rebukes Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ: LWAY) 2024 Amended 10-K Filing
- On May 2, 2025, Edward Smolyansky issued a statement from Chicago rebuking Lifeway Foods' amended 2024 Annual Report and compensation disclosures.
- The statement addresses the lack of explanation for the Board's decision to grant CEO Julie Smolyansky a $2 million retention payment along with an equity award valued at $6.5 million in December 2024, despite the company's 20.6% decline in earnings.
- Since 2020, Lifeway has relied solely on external legal counsel after dissolving its internal legal team, spending over $1 million pursuing various legal actions involving Edward and Ludmila Smolyansky, with no financial benefit returned to shareholders.
- In the absence of a General Counsel, Lifeway's legal affairs are largely managed by Jason Burdeen—who is both the Chief of Staff and spouse of CEO Julie Smolyansky—despite lacking formal legal qualifications or an official employment contract. In 2024, Burdeen received $313,800 in total compensation, including a $100,000 bonus, without a clear explanation disclosed.
- Edward Smolyansky warned the Board plans to delay the June 2, 2025 Annual Meeting and proxy process, criticizing governance, urging immediate scheduling and elections, and asserting that the Board's hostility and excessive executive pay contradict shareholder interests.
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Edward Smolyansky Rebukes Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ: LWAY) 2024 Amended 10-K Filing
CHICAGO, May 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Edward Smolyansky, who together with Ludmila Smolyansky, beneficially own approximately 27% of outstanding shares of Lifeway Foods common stock, today issued the following statement in response to Lifeway's amended 2024 Annual Report and its…
·Parsons, United States
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