Companies ACME UNITED CORP
ACME UNITED (ACU): executive pay, fiscal 2025
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CEO pay, last three years
- $1,844,535FY2023
- $1,231,621FY2024
- $1,669,401FY2025
CEO total pay was $1,669,401 in fiscal 2025, up from $1,231,621 in fiscal 2024.
FY2025: salary $1,086,165 · bonus $90,000 · stock awards $0 · option awards $455,250
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Executives and directors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
Three-year trend — total compensation per named executive
| Named executive officer | FY2025 total | FY2024 total | FY2023 total | Δ FY2024→2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walter Johnsen | $1,669,401 | $1,231,621 | $1,844,535 | ↑ +437,780 |
| Brian Olschan | 1,397,357 | 1,032,460 | 1,539,061 | ↑ +364,897 |
| Paul Driscoll | 928,724 | 630,846 | 937,298 | ↑ +297,878 |
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 Company's compensation program is designed to attract, motivate, and retain highly qualified executives, directly relate compensation to Company and individual performance, and align the interests of executive officers with those of shareholders.
| CEO STI target (% of salary) | — |
|---|---|
| CEO LTI target (% of salary) | — |
| Independent consultant | — |
| Clawback policy | — |
| Anti-hedging | false |
| Anti-pledging | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Driscoll | Option | 3,750 | 29.35 | — |
| Brian Olschan | Option | 6,250 | 29.35 | — |
| Paul Driscoll | Option | 6,250 | 30.47 | — |
| Walter Johnsen | Option | 7,500 | 29.35 | — |
| Brian Olschan | Option | 10,000 | 30.47 | — |
| Walter Johnsen | Option | 12,500 | 30.47 | — |
| Paul Driscoll | Option | 15,000 | 40.6 | — |
| Brian Olschan | Option | 20,000 | 40.6 | — |
| Walter Johnsen | Option | 25,000 | 40.6 | — |
Director compensation
| Director | Cash fees | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond Y. Holden JrIndependent · Executive (Chair) · Compensation (Chair) · Nominating (Chair) | $134,155 | — | $48,425 | — | — | $182,580 |
| Paul J. ConwayIndependent · Audit (Chair) | 134,155 | — | 48,425 | — | — | 182,580 |
| Rex L. DavidsonIndependent · Executive · Audit · Compensation | 133,819 | — | 48,425 | — | — | 182,244 |
| Brian K. BarkerIndependent · Audit | 128,963 | — | 48,425 | — | — | 177,388 |
| Susan H. MurphyIndependent · Compensation | 127,749 | — | 48,425 | — | — | 176,174 |
| Brian S. OlschanEmployee director | — | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| Walter C. JohnsenEmployee director · Board Chair | — | — | — | — | — | 0 |
Board fee structure and ownership guideline
| Annual cash retainer | $100,907 |
|---|---|
| Annual equity retainer | — |
| Per board meeting fee | $2,900 |
| Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov) | — |
| Stock ownership guideline | — |
Total cost of the board
| 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.
Peer group, and who names ACME UNITED as a peer
Companies that benchmark against ACU
1 company names ACU as a compensation peer
- National CineMedia, Inc.NCMIFY2025
Each company listed discloses ACU in its own benchmarking peer group, as disclosed in each company's most recent proxy statement within the last two proxy seasons. Two companies are therefore absent by design: one that named ACU in an earlier year and no longer does, and one whose own most recent disclosure is older than the last two seasons.
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 | ACME UNITED CORP | 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.
Say-on-pay history and pay ratio
| 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.
Say-on-pay — history, company’s computation
| 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.
Insider trades since the proxy
No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.
Sources (16 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, Walter Johnsen. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-27. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 1,669,401. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Brian Olschan. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-27. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 1,397,357. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Paul Driscoll. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-27. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 928,724. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Richmond Y. Holden Jr. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-27. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 182,580. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Paul J. Conway. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-27. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 182,580. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Rex L. Davidson. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-27. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 182,244. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Brian K. Barker. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-27. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 177,388. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Susan H. Murphy. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-27. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 176,174. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Brian S. Olschan. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-27. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Walter C. Johnsen. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-27. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
- Section 06, 2026 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2026-04-28. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 96.45% (votes for as printed: 2,775,611). View filing ↗
- Section 06, 2025 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2025-04-23. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 98.64% (votes for as printed: 2,608,573). View filing ↗
- Section 06, 2024 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2024-04-24. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 96.54% (votes for as printed: 2,215,845). 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 658,841 + equity 0 + all other 0 = 658,841, summed across the director compensation table rows.
- ACME UNITED CORP (subject), Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-27. CEO total compensation as printed in ACME UNITED CORP's own proxy. As printed: 1,669,401. View filing ↗