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Companies Willis Lease Finance Corp

Willis Lease Finance (WLFC): executive pay, fiscal 2025

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CEO total pay$19,209,005CEO Austin Willis · source
Say-on-pay support59.89%Latest vote · source
CEO vs. named peers99th pct.Of 11 peer CEOs

CEO pay, last three years

  • $6,484,783FY2023
  • $7,209,861FY2024
  • $19,209,005FY2025

CEO total pay was $19,209,005 in fiscal 2025, up from $7,209,861 in fiscal 2024.

FY2025: salary $850,662 · bonus $3,445,424 · stock awards $14,637,060 · option awards $0

Executives and directors

Frequently asked questions

Who was the highest-paid executive at Willis Lease Finance Corp in fiscal 2025?
As disclosed, Charles Willis IV (Executive Chairman) was the highest-paid executive at Willis Lease Finance Corp in fiscal 2025, with total compensation of $52,091,481.
How does Willis Lease Finance Corp's chief executive pay compare to its disclosed peer group?
As disclosed, Austin Willis's total compensation ranked at the 99th percentile of Willis Lease Finance Corp's disclosed peer group.
How did shareholders vote on Willis Lease Finance Corp's executive compensation?
As disclosed, 59.89% of shareholders supported Willis Lease Finance Corp's executive compensation in the latest say-on-pay vote.
How much does Willis Lease Finance Corp spend in total on board compensation for fiscal 2025?
As disclosed, Willis Lease Finance Corp reported total board compensation of $945,150 for fiscal 2025.

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 officerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension / NQDCAll otherTotal
Charles Willis IV$1,210,202$5,251,327$33,628,868$11,364,000$0$0$637,084$52,091,481
Executive Chairman
Austin Willis850,6623,445,42414,637,060000275,85919,209,005
Chief Executive Officer
Brian Hole664,5991,974,7599,589,79800047,71612,276,872
President
Scott Flaherty607,2781,402,6697,823,46900093,0799,926,494
Chief Financial 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 officerFY2025 totalFY2024 totalFY2023 totalΔ FY2024→2025
Charles Willis IV$52,091,481$14,157,088$10,777,645↑ +37,934,393
Austin Willis19,209,0057,209,8616,484,783↑ +11,999,144
Brian Hole12,276,8726,586,3494,470,543↑ +5,690,523
Scott Flaherty9,926,4943,385,420—↑ +6,541,074

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

We provide our executives with an annual base salary as a fixed, stable form of compensation, and we grant our executives equity-based awards to provide an additional incentive to grow our business and further link the interests of our executives with those of our stockholders. We also provide our executives the opportunity to earn an annual cash bonus as determined by our Compensation Committee.

CEO STI target (% of salary)—
CEO LTI target (% of salary)—
Independent consultantExequity, LLP
Clawback policytrue
Anti-hedgingfalse
Anti-pledgingfalse
Equity grants and outstanding awards

No plan-based awards are on file for this fiscal year.

Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end 2025

ExecutiveAwardShares unvestedExercise priceMarket value unvested
Scott FlahertyRSU3,733—$506,344
Scott FlahertyRSU4,154—563,449
Brian HoleRSU4,666—632,896
Brian HoleRSU5,092—690,679
Scott FlahertyRSU6,232—845,308
WillisRSU6,893—934,967
Brian HoleRSU7,638—1,036,018
WillisRSU7,772—1,054,194
Scott FlahertyRSU8,266—1,121,200
Brian HoleRSU10,133—1,374,440
Scott FlahertyRSU11,625—1,576,815
WillisRSU11,658—1,581,291
Scott FlahertyRSU12,400—1,681,936
Willis IVRSU13,333—1,808,488
Willis IVRSU13,400—1,817,576
Brian HoleRSU14,250—1,932,870
Brian HoleRSU15,200—2,061,728
WillisRSU15,466—2,097,808
Willis IVRSU20,100—2,726,364
WillisRSU21,750—2,950,170
WillisRSU23,200—3,146,848
Scott FlahertyRSU23,250—3,153,630
Willis IVRSU26,666—3,616,976
Brian HoleRSU28,500—3,865,740
Willis IVRSU37,500—5,086,500
Willis IVRSU40,000—5,425,600
WillisRSU43,500—5,900,340
Willis IVRSU44,904—6,090,779
Willis IVRSU75,000—10,173,000
Director compensation
DirectorCash feesStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveAll otherTotal
Stephen JonesIndependent · Newly elected$112,500$375,060———$487,560
Brendan J. CurranIndependent112,500125,045———237,545
Colm BarringtonIndependent95,000125,045———220,045
Charles F. Willis IVEmployee director · Board Chair—————0

Board fee structure and ownership guideline

Annual cash retainer$95,000
Annual equity retainer$125,000
Per board meeting fee—
Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov)17,500 / 17,500
Stock ownership guidelinefor non-employee Board members, equal to 3x the annual cash retainer.

Total cost of the board

ComponentFY2025
Cash retainers and fees$320,000
Equity awards (grant-date value)$625,150
All other compensation$0
Total cost of the board$945,150

Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.

Peer group, and who names Willis Lease Finance as a peer

Companies that benchmark against WLFC

6 companies name WLFC as a compensation peer

The list of companies that name WLFC 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 Willis Lease Finance Corp 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.

RankCompanyFYChief executiveSalaryStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveTotal
1Willis Lease Finance Corp2025Austin Willis$850,662$14,637,060$0$0$19,209,005
2AeroVironment, Inc.2026Wahid Nawabi1,118,82913,339,7150767,60915,253,775
3Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.2025Eric DeMarco1,000,0008,244,00001,500,00010,832,739
4AAR Corp.2026John Holmes1,115,0004,637,8941,159,3102,408,4009,867,963
5Hercules Capital, Inc.2025Scott Bluestein650,0005,047,162009,670,162
6Air Lease Corporation2025John Plueger1,000,0005,313,82902,820,0009,399,534
7Gatx Corporation2025Robert Lyons991,6672,281,8302,302,1051,012,0938,178,380
8Ftai Aviation Ltd.2025Joseph Adams Jr.975,0002,647,25402,340,0005,988,406
9Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc2025Jason Gottlieb300,0001,548,40003,570,0005,482,136
—Alta Equipment Group Inc.——————not in coverage universe
—Civeo Corporation——————not in coverage universe
—AerSale Corporation——————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

CompanyAnnual incentive payoutLong-term vehicle mixPSU measures include TSRCompensation consultant
Willis Lease Finance Corpnot disclosedPSU 60 · RSU 40not disclosedExequity, LLP
AAR Corp.180%PSU 60 · RSU 20 · Options 20YesSemler Brossy
AeroVironment, Inc.62%PSU 65 · RSU 35NoPay Governance
AerSale Corporationnot disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
Air Lease Corporationnot disclosedPRSU 50 · RSU 25not disclosedExequity
Alta Equipment Group Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
Artisan Partners Asset Management Incnot disclosedRSU 100not disclosedMcLagan
Civeo Corporationnot disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
Ftai Aviation Ltd.not disclosedRSU 50 · PSU 50not disclosednot disclosed
Gatx Corporationnot disclosednot disclosednot disclosedPay Governance LLC
Hercules Capital, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosedFW Cook
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.not disclosedRSU 50 · PSU 50NoBoard Advisory, LLC

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 yearMeeting dateForAgainstAbstainSupportOutcome
20262026-05-263,989,1512,671,32614,62859.89%Passed
20232023-07-253,790,7471,606,47210,29270.24%Passed
20202020-07-213,752,1441,539,41714,71770.91%Passed
20172017-05-253,533,9521,858,67611,35065.53%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 yearMeeting dateApproval — company’s computation
20262026-05-2659.89%a
20232023-07-2570.24%b
20202020-07-2170.91%c

a. Voting standard not stated in the filing.

b. Voting standard not stated in the filing.

c. Voting standard not stated in the filing.

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.

Insider trades since the proxy

Every insider equity transaction reported on Form 4 after the 2025 proxy statement — acquisitions, dispositions, exercises, and withholdings — and therefore not reflected in any table in that document.

InsiderRoleTransaction dateCodeSharesPriceValueSecuritySource
Austin Chandler WillisDirector2026-05-01D400$194$77,772CommonForm 4 ↗
Austin Chandler WillisDirector2026-05-01D716194138,640Common, open-market saleForm 4 ↗
Austin Chandler WillisDirector2026-05-01D1,484193286,024Common, open-market saleForm 4 ↗
Austin Chandler WillisDirector2026-05-01D800191152,978Common, open-market saleForm 4 ↗
Clifton DameronSVP, GC & Corporate Secretary2026-05-15D612180110,178CommonForm 4 ↗
Stephen JonesDirector2026-05-26A3,000186556,860CommonForm 4 ↗
Colm BarringtonDirector2026-05-26A3,000186556,860CommonForm 4 ↗
Stephen JonesDirector2026-05-26A674186125,108CommonForm 4 ↗
Colm BarringtonDirector2026-05-26A674186125,108CommonForm 4 ↗
Brendan J. CurranDirector2026-05-26A674186125,108CommonForm 4 ↗
Brendan J. CurranDirector2026-05-26A3,000186556,860CommonForm 4 ↗
Austin Chandler WillisDirector2026-07-01D700223155,894Common, open-market saleForm 4 ↗
Austin Chandler WillisDirector2026-07-01D24822756,349Common, open-market saleForm 4 ↗
Austin Chandler WillisDirector2026-07-01D20022545,018CommonForm 4 ↗
Austin Chandler WillisDirector2026-07-01D23623054,169CommonForm 4 ↗
Austin Chandler WillisDirector2026-07-01D1,700222377,072Common, open-market saleForm 4 ↗
Austin Chandler WillisDirector2026-07-01D1,100228250,789Common, open-market saleForm 4 ↗
Austin Chandler WillisDirector2026-07-01D500224111,956Common, open-market saleForm 4 ↗
Austin Chandler WillisDirector2026-07-01D500221110,309Common, open-market saleForm 4 ↗
Scott FlahertyEVP, CFO2026-07-31A148294,302CommonForm 4 ↗
Austin Chandler WillisDirector2026-08-03D5,63773410,207Common, open-market saleForm 4 ↗
Austin Chandler WillisDirector2026-08-03D9,36374689,896Common, open-market saleForm 4 ↗
Clifton DameronSVP, GC & Corporate Secretary2026-08-14D3,53557200,894CommonForm 4 ↗
Charles F. Willis IVDirector2026-08-17D13,59058793,417Common, open-market saleForm 4 ↗
Charles F. Willis IVDirector2026-08-17D16,03257921,014Common, open-market saleForm 4 ↗
Charles F. Willis IVDirector2026-08-17D1,77859104,641Common, open-market saleForm 4 ↗
Charles F. Willis IVDirector2026-08-18D6,48557367,116Common, open-market saleForm 4 ↗
Charles F. Willis IVDirector2026-08-18D8,53558496,669Common, open-market saleForm 4 ↗
Charles F. Willis IVDirector2026-08-18D12,48057717,071Common, open-market saleForm 4 ↗
Charles F. Willis IVDirector2026-08-19D4,81057275,469Common, open-market saleForm 4 ↗
Charles F. Willis IVDirector2026-08-19D3,13356176,956Common, open-market saleForm 4 ↗
Charles F. Willis IVDirector2026-08-19D11,35755625,926Common, open-market saleForm 4 ↗

Transaction codes per Form 4: A acquisition · S open-market sale · F tax withholding · M option exercise · G gift. Value = shares × price as reported. Dividend-equivalent and fractional-share accrual rows (derivative Class A, under $10,000 and under 2,000 shares) are aggregated per date; every row appears in full below.

Sources (55 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, Charles Willis IV. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-24. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 52,091,481. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Austin Willis. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-24. Section “Executive Compensation” · page 28. As printed: 19,209,005. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Brian Hole. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-24. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 12,276,872. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Scott Flaherty. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-24. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 9,926,494. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Stephen Jones. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-24. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 487,560. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Brendan J. Curran. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-24. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 237,545. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Colm Barrington. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-24. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 220,045. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Charles F. Willis IV. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-24. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Austin Chandler Willis 2026-05-01. Form 4, filed 2026-05-05. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Austin Chandler Willis 2026-05-01. Form 4, filed 2026-05-05. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Austin Chandler Willis 2026-05-01. Form 4, filed 2026-05-05. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Austin Chandler Willis 2026-05-01. Form 4, filed 2026-05-05. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Clifton Dameron 2026-05-15. Form 4, filed 2026-05-18. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Stephen Jones 2026-05-26. Form 4, filed 2026-05-27. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Colm Barrington 2026-05-26. Form 4, filed 2026-05-27. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Stephen Jones 2026-05-26. Form 4, filed 2026-05-28. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Colm Barrington 2026-05-26. Form 4, filed 2026-05-28. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Brendan J. Curran 2026-05-26. Form 4, filed 2026-05-28. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Brendan J. Curran 2026-05-26. Form 4, filed 2026-05-27. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Austin Chandler Willis 2026-07-01. Form 4, filed 2026-07-06. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Austin Chandler Willis 2026-07-01. Form 4, filed 2026-07-06. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Austin Chandler Willis 2026-07-01. Form 4, filed 2026-07-06. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Austin Chandler Willis 2026-07-01. Form 4, filed 2026-07-06. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Austin Chandler Willis 2026-07-01. Form 4, filed 2026-07-06. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Austin Chandler Willis 2026-07-01. Form 4, filed 2026-07-06. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Austin Chandler Willis 2026-07-01. Form 4, filed 2026-07-06. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Austin Chandler Willis 2026-07-01. Form 4, filed 2026-07-06. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Scott Flaherty 2026-07-31. Form 4, filed 2026-08-03. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Austin Chandler Willis 2026-08-03. Form 4, filed 2026-08-05. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Austin Chandler Willis 2026-08-03. Form 4, filed 2026-08-05. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Clifton Dameron 2026-08-14. Form 4, filed 2026-08-17. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Charles F. Willis IV 2026-08-17. Form 4, filed 2026-08-19. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Charles F. Willis IV 2026-08-17. Form 4, filed 2026-08-19. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Charles F. Willis IV 2026-08-17. Form 4, filed 2026-08-19. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Charles F. Willis IV 2026-08-18. Form 4, filed 2026-08-19. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Charles F. Willis IV 2026-08-18. Form 4, filed 2026-08-19. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Charles F. Willis IV 2026-08-18. Form 4, filed 2026-08-19. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Charles F. Willis IV 2026-08-19. Form 4, filed 2026-08-19. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Charles F. Willis IV 2026-08-19. Form 4, filed 2026-08-19. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Charles F. Willis IV 2026-08-19. Form 4, filed 2026-08-19. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 06, 2026 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2026-05-27. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 59.89% (votes for as printed: 3,989,151). View filing ↗
  • Section 06, 2023 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2023-07-27. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 70.24% (votes for as printed: 3,790,747). View filing ↗
  • Section 06, 2020 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2020-07-22. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 70.91%. 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 320,000 + equity 625,150 + all other 0 = 945,150, summed across the director compensation table rows.
  • Willis Lease Finance Corp (subject), Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-24. CEO total compensation as printed in Willis Lease Finance Corp's own proxy. As printed: 19,209,005. View filing ↗
  • AeroVironment, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-14. CEO total compensation as printed in AeroVironment, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 15,253,775. View filing ↗
  • Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-02. CEO total compensation as printed in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 10,832,739. View filing ↗
  • AAR Corp., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-04. CEO total compensation as printed in AAR Corp.'s own proxy. As printed: 9,867,963. View filing ↗
  • Hercules Capital, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. CEO total compensation as printed in Hercules Capital, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 9,670,162. View filing ↗
  • Air Lease Corporation, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-30. CEO total compensation as printed in Air Lease Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 9,399,534. View filing ↗
  • Gatx Corporation, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-13. CEO total compensation as printed in Gatx Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 8,178,380. View filing ↗
  • Ftai Aviation Ltd., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-15. CEO total compensation as printed in Ftai Aviation Ltd.'s own proxy. As printed: 5,988,406. View filing ↗
  • Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-17. CEO total compensation as printed in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc's own proxy. As printed: 5,482,136. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, FTAI Aviation Ltd. reciprocity. DEF 14A. FTAI Aviation Ltd. names Willis Lease Finance Corp in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗
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