MasterBrand names controller Mark Young interim CFO as Andrea Simon steps aside

MasterBrand, Inc. said Monday that Andrea Simon had ceased to be chief financial officer on October 23, 2026 and appointed Mark Young, its chief accounting officer, as interim CFO effective that date, which the accompanying release described as effective immediately. The Form 8-K also priced the handover: $1,187,250 of cash severance for Simon and a $15,000 monthly stipend for Young, whose $385,000 base salary does not change.

A controller adds the CFO title and keeps the ledgers

Young, 49, has been MasterBrand's vice president and chief accounting officer since he joined the company in 2022, responsible for financial reporting, internal controls and accounting policy. He holds both titles while the company searches for a permanent finance chief with the help of an executive search firm. His record sits inside the cabinet and tire industries rather than capital markets: vice president, accounting of Fortune Brands' cabinets segment, MasterBrand Cabinets, from June 2022 until December 14, 2022; before that, Cooper Tire & Rubber, where he was manager of financial accounting from July 2010 to February 2015, then director of external reporting and the company's principal accounting officer from February 2015 to July 2019, and then vice president and chief accounting officer from July 2019 to May 2022; and before that, 11 years at Ernst & Young.

The interim package, itemized

The 8-K prices the arrangement rather than describing it. Young's annual base salary stays at $385,000. He adds a $15,000 monthly stipend while he serves as interim CFO, which annualizes to $180,000, plus a 30% increase in his annual bonus target that lifts the target to 80% of base salary, or $308,000. A one-time cash retention award of $150,000 is payable on the 18-month anniversary of his appointment and depends on his continued employment. The stipend alone is worth nearly half his salary again each year the search runs, paying for continuity without fixing a permanent pay level.

Simon's exit: severance, advisory pay and a canceled award

Simon ceased to be CFO on October 23, 2026, the date of the separation agreement, and moved into a non-executive advisory role that runs to March 31, 2027. She keeps her base salary and health benefits at existing levels, stays eligible for equity awards that vest before her separation date, and can earn a pro-rated share of her normal target annual bonus for 2027, which the agreement states as $130,000, based on actual performance. The agreement puts her cash severance at $1,187,250, equal to 12 months of base salary, her 2026 target bonus and the retirement-plan contribution for the year before she leaves, the formula from her previously disclosed December 14, 2022 severance agreement, which the 8-K says she remains entitled to and which the new agreement carries forward, conditional on her signing and not revoking the first supplemental release and paid in a lump sum on the second payroll date after that release takes effect. If she remains employed through March 31, 2027, she also collects $165,900 for canceling an integration restricted stock unit award granted June 3, 2026. Her life, health and accident coverage continues for 12 months after separation, at the active-employee rate for medical, dental and vision and running concurrently with, and counting against, her COBRA period. The agreement also provides a separate pro-rated 2026 bonus based on actual performance and outplacement services that end when she is next employed or after 12 months. The 8-K and the press release state plainly that the departure is not tied to accounting or financial-reporting problems.

Integration work continues while the finance seat stays temporary

The handover lands mid-integration with American Woodmark. Banyard tied the appointment to that work: “Mark’s deep knowledge of our strategic priorities and financial operations makes him well positioned to serve as interim CFO at this important point in our integration journey following the merger with American Woodmark.” He also said that “Mark’s understanding of both businesses and prior integration experience will be instrumental in advancing the work underway.” Those are the only strategic claims in the package; neither document quantifies expected synergies or integration costs, and neither touches the outlook for the current quarter.

What the filing leaves open

This is a personnel filing, not a results release. The 8-K carries Items 5.02, 7.01 and 9.01, and none of the three documents contains revenue, margin, guidance, a consensus comparison or a share-price reaction, so the usual period-over-period arithmetic does not apply and no prior-period figure exists to compare. The filings also do not say who runs the controller's office while Young holds two titles, how long the permanent search will take, or what a permanent CFO will be paid; the company can end Simon's advisory period on five days' notice, but the agreement still requires her base salary through March 31, 2027 and keeps the 2027 bonus available, subject to the second release. The next hard checkpoints are a Form 8-K if a permanent CFO is named and the next quarterly report, about which these filings say nothing.