Fiscal year 2025 executive and director compensation, incentive-plan design, equity activity, and governance — every figure in this brief is traceable to its exact location in the company’s SEC filing — the document, the section, the page, and the table, linked directly.
This is the complete answer, not a partial one — the list is never padded.
| Named executive officer | Salary | Bonus | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Pension / NQDC | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walter Johnsen | $1,086,165 | $90,000 | $0 | $455,250 | $0 | $0 | $37,986 | $1,669,401 |
| Chairman & Chief Executive Officer | ||||||||
| Brian Olschan | 942,237 | 75,000 | 0 | 364,200 | 0 | 0 | 15,920 | 1,397,357 |
| President & Chief Operating Officer | ||||||||
| Paul Driscoll | 569,654 | 70,000 | 0 | 273,150 | 0 | 0 | 15,920 | 928,724 |
| Vice President & 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.
| Named executive officer | FY2025 total | FY2024 total | FY2023 total | Δ FY2024→2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walter Johnsen | $1,669,401 | — | — | — |
| Brian Olschan | 1,397,357 | — | — | — |
| Paul Driscoll | 928,724 | — | — | — |
Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.
No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.
| Executive | Award | Shares unvested | Exercise price | Market value unvested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walter Johnsen | Option | 25,000 | 40.6 | — |
| Walter Johnsen | Option | 30,000 | 21.49 | — |
| Walter Johnsen | Option | 7,500 | 29.35 | — |
| Walter Johnsen | Option | 12,500 | 30.47 | — |
| Brian Olschan | Option | 6,250 | 29.35 | — |
| Brian Olschan | Option | 10,000 | 30.47 | — |
| Paul Driscoll | Option | 6,250 | 30.47 | — |
| Brian Olschan | Option | 20,000 | 40.6 | — |
| Paul Driscoll | Option | 3,750 | 29.35 | — |
| Paul Driscoll | Option | 15,000 | 40.6 | — |
Pay-for-performance philosophy; aligns interests with long-term shareholder interests; balance of short- and long-term performance metrics.
| CEO STI target (% of salary) | — |
|---|---|
| CEO LTI target (% of salary) | — |
| Independent consultant | — |
| Clawback policy | — |
| Anti-hedging | false |
| Anti-pledging | — |
| Meeting year | Meeting date | For | Against | Abstain | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-04-27 | 2,775,611 | 102,051 | 5,951 | 96.45% | Passed |
| 2025 | 2025-04-21 | 2,608,573 | 36,005 | 45,414 | 98.64% | Passed |
| 2024 | 2024-04-22 | 2,215,845 | 79,415 | 6,572 | 96.54% | Passed |
| 2023 | 2023-04-24 | 2,371,177 | 196,265 | 15,250 | 92.36% | Passed |
| 2022 | 2022-04-25 | 1,818,211 | 233,877 | 13,338 | 88.6% | Passed |
| 2021 | 2021-04-20 | 2,046,518 | 81,155 | 6,461 | 96.19% | 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.
| Meeting year | Meeting date | Approval — company's computation |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-04-27 | 96.45%a |
| 2025 | 2025-04-21 | 98.64%b |
| 2024 | 2024-04-22 | 96.54%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.
| Director | Cash fees | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond Y. Holden JrIndependent · Executive · Compensation (Chair) | $134,155 | — | $48,425 | — | — | $182,580 |
| Paul J. ConwayIndependent · Nominating/Governance (Chair) · Audit (Chair) | 134,155 | — | 48,425 | — | — | 182,580 |
| Rex L. DavidsonIndependent · Nominating/Governance · Audit · Compensation · Nominating | 133,819 | — | 48,425 | — | — | 182,244 |
| Brian K. BarkerIndependent · Nominating/Governance · Audit | 128,963 | — | 48,425 | — | — | 177,388 |
| Susan H. MurphyIndependent · Compensation · Nominating | 127,749 | — | 48,425 | — | — | 176,174 |
| Walter C. JohnsenEmployee director · Board Chair | — | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| Brian S. OlschanEmployee director | — | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| Annual cash retainer | $100,907 |
|---|---|
| Annual equity retainer | — |
| Per board meeting fee | $2,900 |
| Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov) | — |
| Stock ownership guideline | — |
| Component | FY2025 |
|---|---|
| Cash retainers and fees | $658,841 |
| Equity awards (grant-date value) | $0 |
| All other compensation | $0 |
| Total cost of the board | $658,841 |
Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.
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 | Acme United | 2025 | Walter Johnsen | $1,086,165 | $0 | $455,250 | $0 | $1,669,401 |
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.
Each figure's location is given both for the eye (section · page · table · row · column) and for a script (table/row/column index and exact character span in the filed document). Any figure can be independently confirmed against the source.
| # | Supports | Document | Filed | Accession | Location in document |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Section 01, Walter Johnsen | DEF 14A | 2026-03-27 | 0001193125-26-129439 | Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 1,669,401. Filing ↗machine: r3 · c22 · span 187893–187902 |
| 2 | Section 01, Brian Olschan | DEF 14A | 2026-03-27 | 0001193125-26-129439 | Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 1,397,357. Filing ↗machine: r7 · c22 · span 193879–193888 |
| 3 | Section 01, Paul Driscoll | DEF 14A | 2026-03-27 | 0001193125-26-129439 | Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 928,724. Filing ↗machine: r11 · c22 · span 199864–199871 |
| 4 | Section 08, Richmond Y. Holden Jr | DEF 14A | 2026-03-27 | 0001193125-26-129439 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 182,580. Filing ↗ |
| 5 | Section 08, Paul J. Conway | DEF 14A | 2026-03-27 | 0001193125-26-129439 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 182,580. Filing ↗ |
| 6 | Section 08, Rex L. Davidson | DEF 14A | 2026-03-27 | 0001193125-26-129439 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 182,244. Filing ↗ |
| 7 | Section 08, Brian K. Barker | DEF 14A | 2026-03-27 | 0001193125-26-129439 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 177,388. Filing ↗ |
| 8 | Section 08, Susan H. Murphy | DEF 14A | 2026-03-27 | 0001193125-26-129439 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 176,174. Filing ↗ |
| 9 | Section 08, Walter C. Johnsen | DEF 14A | 2026-03-27 | 0001193125-26-129439 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗ |
| 10 | Section 08, Brian S. Olschan | DEF 14A | 2026-03-27 | 0001193125-26-129439 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗ |
| 11 | Section 06, 2026 vote | Form 8-K | 2026-04-28 | 0001193125-26-187237 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 96.45% (votes for as printed: 2,775,611). Filing ↗ |
| 12 | Section 06, 2025 vote | Form 8-K | 2025-04-23 | 0000950170-25-057453 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 98.64% (votes for as printed: 2,608,573). Filing ↗ |
| 13 | Section 06, 2024 vote | Form 8-K | 2024-04-24 | 0000950170-24-047630 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 96.54% (votes for as printed: 2,215,845). Filing ↗ |
| 14 | Section 09b board cost (computed) | Computed | — | computed | Cash 658,841 + equity 0 + all other 0 = 658,841, summed across the director compensation table rows.machine: formula: Σ = 658,841 |
| 15 | Acme United (subject), Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-03-27 | 0001193125-26-129439 | CEO total compensation as printed in Acme United's own proxy. As printed: 1,669,401. Filing ↗machine: r3 · c22 · span 187893–187902 |