Companies Utz Brands
Utz Brands (UTZ): executive pay, fiscal 2025
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CEO pay, last three years
- $4,113,444FY2023
- $4,907,657FY2024
- $4,391,269FY2025
CEO total pay was $4,391,269 in fiscal 2025, down from $4,907,657 in fiscal 2024.
FY2025: salary $968,289 · bonus $0 · stock awards $2,699,044 · option awards $0
Executives and directors
Frequently asked questions
Answers are drawn only from the figures disclosed in this brief and cited to their location in the source filing. Where a figure required for an answer is not disclosed, that is stated rather than estimated.
Full detail
Every table from the filing. Open any section.
Summary compensation table
| Named executive officer | Salary | Bonus | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Pension / NQDC | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard Friedman | $968,289 | $0 | $2,699,044 | $0 | $609,936 | $0 | $114,000 | $4,391,269 |
| Chief Executive Officer | ||||||||
| Ajay Kataria | 246,633 | 0 | 827,090 | 0 | 98,124 | 0 | 595,191 | 1,767,038 |
| Former Executive Vice President, Chief Financial and Accounting Officer | ||||||||
| William Kelley Jr. | 380,385 | 50,000 | 870,419 | 0 | 285,200 | 0 | 0 | 1,586,004 |
| Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer | ||||||||
| Theresa Shea | 505,539 | 0 | 549,794 | 0 | 199,989 | 0 | 14,000 | 1,269,322 |
| Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary | ||||||||
| Mitchell Arends | 503,943 | 0 | 423,673 | 0 | 229,408 | 0 | 14,000 | 1,171,024 |
| Executive Vice President, Chief Integrated Supply Chain Officer | ||||||||
| Jennifer Bentz | 489,179 | 0 | 411,187 | 0 | 183,959 | 0 | 14,000 | 1,098,325 |
| Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer | ||||||||
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column; 0 means it reported zero. Figures are as printed in the filing, without adjustment.
Three-year trend — total compensation per named executive
| Named executive officer | FY2025 total | FY2024 total | FY2023 total | Δ FY2024→2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard Friedman | $4,391,269 | $4,907,657 | $4,113,444 | ↓ −516,388 |
| Ajay Kataria | 1,767,038 | 1,808,155 | 1,359,129 | ↓ −41,117 |
| William Kelley Jr. | 1,586,004 | — | — | — |
| Theresa Shea | 1,269,322 | 1,325,187 | 1,146,807 | ↓ −55,865 |
| Mitchell Arends | 1,171,024 | 1,439,565 | — | ↓ −268,541 |
| Jennifer Bentz | 1,098,325 | — | — | — |
Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.
Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis
The core principles of our executive compensation program are to align the compensation of our executive officers with the long-term interests of our stockholders and to provide a total compensation opportunity that allows us to attract and retain talented executive officers and motivate them to achieve exceptional business results.
| CEO STI target (% of salary) | — |
|---|---|
| CEO LTI target (% of salary) | — |
| Independent consultant | F.W. Cook |
| Clawback policy | true |
| Anti-hedging | true |
| Anti-pledging | true |
Equity grants and outstanding awards
No plan-based awards are on file for this fiscal year.
Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end 2025
| Executive | Award | Shares unvested | Exercise price | Market value unvested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard Friedman | PSU | 62 | — | $481 |
| William Kelley Jr. | PSU | 62 | — | 481 |
| Mitchell Arends | PSU | 62 | — | 481 |
| Jennifer Bentz | PSU | 62 | — | 481 |
| Theresa Shea | PSU | 62 | — | 481 |
| Ajay Kataria | PSU | 62 | — | 481 |
| Jennifer Bentz | RSU | 480,500 | — | 3,728,680 |
| Mitchell Arends | RSU | 495,000 | — | 3,841,200 |
| Theresa Shea | RSU | 496,250 | — | 3,850,900 |
| Ajay Kataria | RSU | 558,250 | — | 4,332,020 |
| William Kelley Jr. | RSU | 575,000 | — | 4,462,000 |
| Howard Friedman | RSU | 950,000 | — | 7,372,000 |
Director compensation
| Director | Cash fees | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dylan LissetteIndependent | $177,500 | $130,000 | — | — | — | $307,500 |
| Roger DeromediIndependent · Audit · Compensation · Nominating and Corporate Governance | 112,500 | 130,000 | — | — | — | 242,500 |
| Craig SteeneckIndependent · Audit (Chair) | 112,500 | 130,000 | — | — | — | 242,500 |
| Jason GiordanoIndependent · Compensation (Chair) · Nominating and Corporate Governance | 106,250 | 130,000 | — | — | — | 236,250 |
| John AltmeyerIndependent · Compensation · Nominating and Corporate Governance | 95,000 | 130,000 | — | — | — | 225,000 |
| Timothy BrownIndependent · Nominating and Corporate Governance | 93,750 | 130,000 | — | — | — | 223,750 |
| Antonio FernandezIndependent · Audit | 87,500 | 130,000 | — | — | — | 217,500 |
| Pamela StewartIndependent · Compensation | 87,500 | 130,000 | — | — | — | 217,500 |
| Christina ChoiIndependent · Nominating and Corporate Governance | 87,500 | 130,000 | — | — | — | 217,500 |
| B. John LindemanIndependent · Audit | 87,500 | 130,000 | — | — | — | 217,500 |
| William Werzyn JrIndependent · Audit | 87,500 | 130,000 | — | — | — | 217,500 |
| Howard FriedmanEmployee director | — | — | — | — | — | 0 |
Board fee structure and ownership guideline
| Annual cash retainer | $87,500 |
|---|---|
| Annual equity retainer | $130,000 |
| Per board meeting fee | — |
| Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov) | 25,000 / 20,000 / 15,000 |
| Stock ownership guideline | Non-employee Directors 5 times the annual Board retainer |
Total cost of the board
| Component | FY2025 |
|---|---|
| Cash retainers and fees | $1,135,000 |
| Equity awards (grant-date value) | $1,430,000 |
| All other compensation | $0 |
| Total cost of the board | $2,565,000 |
Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.
Peer group, and who names Utz Brands as a peer
Companies that benchmark against UTZ
13 companies name UTZ as a compensation peer
The list of companies that name UTZ as a peer is temporarily unavailable — recheck shortly.
Disclosed peer group — fiscal year 2025
The compensation peer group as the company disclosed it in its own proxy — the reference set behind the percentile above.
Peer reciprocity
The companies Utz Brands names as compensation peers that name it back in their own disclosed peer groups.
Chief executive pay against the peer group
Most recent fiscal-year chief executive compensation at each disclosed peer, taken from that company’s own proxy statement.
| Rank | Company | FY | Chief executive | Salary | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WK Kellogg Co. | 2023 | Steve Cahillane | $1,338,462 | $10,995,985 | $1,524,318 | $2,829,600 | $17,038,641 |
| 2 | TreeHouse Foods, Inc. | 2024 | Steven Oakland | 1,102,000 | 7,069,378 | 0 | 0 | 8,305,103 |
| 3 | Flowers Foods, Inc. | 2025 | A. Ryals McMullian | 1,041,730 | 5,735,842 | 0 | 733,524 | 7,776,698 |
| 4 | BellRing Brands, Inc. | 2025 | Darcy Horn Davenport | 950,025 | 4,400,000 | 0 | 1,055,715 | 6,563,539 |
| 5 | B&G Foods, Inc. | 2025 | Kenneth Keller | 1,224,258 | 2,625,864 | 0 | 710,437 | 4,589,619 |
| 6 | The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. | 2025 | Wendy Davidson | 789,808 | 3,530,682 | 0 | 0 | 4,546,417 |
| 7 | Utz Brands | 2025 | Howard Friedman | 968,289 | 2,699,044 | 0 | 609,936 | 4,391,269 |
| 8 | J&J Snack Foods Corp. | 2025 | Daniel Fachner | 1,021,923 | 2,059,974 | 0 | 834,300 | 3,978,648 |
| 9 | Calavo Growers, Inc. | 2024 | Lecil Cole | 66,160 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 77,760 |
| — | The Simply Good Foods Company | — | — | — | — | — | — | not in coverage universe |
| — | John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. | — | — | — | — | — | — | not in coverage universe |
Each peer’s compensation is from its most recently filed proxy; fiscal years differ by company. Each peer’s figures come from its own filings; the subject company is highlighted. Peers whose chief executive compensation is outside our coverage universe are stated as such, never left blank.
Incentive design against the same peers
| Company | Annual incentive payout | Long-term vehicle mix | PSU measures include TSR | Compensation consultant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utz Brands | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | F.W. Cook |
| B&G Foods, Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | Meridian Compensation Partners |
| BellRing Brands, Inc. | 88.9% of target for corporate level NEOs; 92.9% of target for business unit level NEO (Mr. Singh).% | PRSUs 80 · RSUs 20 | Yes — Relative TSR | Aon |
| Calavo Growers, Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | Pay Governance LLC |
| Flowers Foods, Inc. | 56.3% | PSU 70 · RSU 30 | Yes — TSR vs. Peer Group | Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC |
| J&J Snack Foods Corp. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. | not disclosed | RSU 50 · PSU 50 | Yes — Relative TSR versus the S&P Food & Beverage Select Industry Index | ClearBridge Compensation Group, LLC |
| The Simply Good Foods Company | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| TreeHouse Foods, Inc. | not disclosed | RSU 50 · PSU 50 | not disclosed | Pay Governance LLC |
| WK Kellogg Co. | not disclosed | PSU 75 · RSU 25 | No | Semler Brossy Consulting Group |
Read from each company’s Compensation Discussion and Analysis: annual incentive payout as a percentage of target, the disclosed long-term vehicle mix, whether performance-share measures include a total shareholder return component, and the retained compensation consultant. “Not disclosed” appears only where the company’s filing does not state the item.
Say-on-pay history and pay ratio
| Meeting year | Meeting date | For | Against | Abstain | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-04-23 | 122,546,516 | 2,608,560 | 281,113 | 97.92% | Passed |
| 2025 | 2025-04-24 | 120,914,366 | 7,273,870 | 66,970 | 94.33% | Passed |
| 2024 | 2024-04-25 | 130,221,751 | 482,503 | 51,938 | 99.63% | Passed |
| 2023 | 2023-05-04 | 128,887,975 | 389,170 | 54,397 | 99.7% | Passed |
| 2022 | 2022-05-05 | 125,915,432 | 747,358 | 123,234 | 99.41% | Passed |
Rows are labeled by annual-meeting year, with the meeting date beside each; the vote held in a given year acts on the prior fiscal year’s compensation.
Say-on-pay — history, company’s computation
| Meeting year | Meeting date | Approval — company’s computation |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-04-23 | 97.92%a |
| 2025 | 2025-04-24 | 94.33%b |
| 2024 | 2024-04-25 | 99.63%c |
a. Voting standard not stated in the filing.
b. Voting standard not stated in the filing.
c. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Vote Required The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the votes properly cast (for the avoidance of doubt, abstentions and broker non-votes are not counted as votes cast for or against such matter) is required for approval, on an advisory basis, of this proposal.”.
Approval percentages are the company’s own reported computations under its own stated standard, not recomputed by Velarion. Where a company does not state a standard, none is assumed.
CEO pay ratio
| Ratio (CEO : median employee) | 115 : 1 |
|---|---|
| CEO total compensation | $5,102,567 |
| Median employee compensation | $44,245 |
Insider trades since the proxy
No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.
Sources (37 citations)
Each figure is listed with the filing it comes from, where it appears in that filing, and the value as printed. Any figure can be independently confirmed against the source.
- Section 01, Howard Friedman. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-12. Section “Fiscal Year 2025 Summary Compensation Table” · page 47. As printed: 4,391,269. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Ajay Kataria. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-12. Section “Fiscal Year 2025 Summary Compensation Table” · page 47. As printed: 1,767,038. View filing ↗
- Section 01, William Kelley Jr.. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-12. Section “Fiscal Year 2025 Summary Compensation Table” · page 47. As printed: 1,586,004. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Theresa Shea. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-12. Section “Fiscal Year 2025 Summary Compensation Table” · page 47. As printed: 1,269,322. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Mitchell Arends. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-12. Section “Fiscal Year 2025 Summary Compensation Table” · page 47. As printed: 1,171,024. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Jennifer Bentz. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-12. Section “Fiscal Year 2025 Summary Compensation Table” · page 47. As printed: 1,098,325. View filing ↗
- Section 07, pay ratio. DEF 14A, filed 2023-03-22. Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 115 : 1. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Dylan Lissette. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-12. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 307,500. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Roger Deromedi. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-12. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 242,500. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Craig Steeneck. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-12. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 242,500. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Jason Giordano. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-12. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 236,250. View filing ↗
- Section 08, John Altmeyer. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-12. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 225,000. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Timothy Brown. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-12. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 223,750. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Antonio Fernandez. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-12. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 217,500. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Pamela Stewart. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-12. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 217,500. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Christina Choi. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-12. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 217,500. View filing ↗
- Section 08, B. John Lindeman. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-12. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 217,500. View filing ↗
- Section 08, William Werzyn Jr. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-12. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 217,500. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Howard Friedman. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-12. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
- Section 06, 2026 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2026-04-27. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 97.92% (votes for as printed: 122,546,516). View filing ↗
- Section 06, 2025 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2025-04-28. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 94.33% (votes for as printed: 120,914,366). View filing ↗
- Section 06, 2024 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2024-04-26. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 99.63% (votes for as printed: 130,221,751). View filing ↗
- Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed). Computed. Δ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.
- Section 09b board cost (computed). Computed. Cash 1,135,000 + equity 1,430,000 + all other 0 = 2,565,000, summed across the director compensation table rows.
- WK Kellogg Co., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2024-03-04. CEO total compensation as printed in WK Kellogg Co.'s own proxy. As printed: 17,038,641. View filing ↗
- TreeHouse Foods, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-13. CEO total compensation as printed in TreeHouse Foods, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 8,305,103. View filing ↗
- Flowers Foods, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-14. CEO total compensation as printed in Flowers Foods, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 7,776,698. View filing ↗
- BellRing Brands, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2025-12-16. CEO total compensation as printed in BellRing Brands, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 6,563,539. View filing ↗
- B&G Foods, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-03. CEO total compensation as printed in B&G Foods, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 4,589,619. View filing ↗
- The Hain Celestial Group, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2025-09-18. CEO total compensation as printed in The Hain Celestial Group, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 4,546,417. View filing ↗
- Utz Brands (subject), Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-12. CEO total compensation as printed in Utz Brands's own proxy. As printed: 4,391,269. View filing ↗
- J&J Snack Foods Corp., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-01-02. CEO total compensation as printed in J&J Snack Foods Corp.'s own proxy. As printed: 3,978,648. View filing ↗
- Calavo Growers, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2025-02-28. CEO total compensation as printed in Calavo Growers, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 77,760. View filing ↗
- Section 10a, The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. names Utz Brands in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗
- Section 10a, BellRing Brands, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. BellRing Brands, Inc. names Utz Brands in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗
- Section 10a, B&G Foods, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. B&G Foods, Inc. names Utz Brands in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗
- Section 10a, Calavo Growers, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Calavo Growers, Inc. names Utz Brands in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗