CEO Guillermo Novo was paid $7,907,423 in fiscal year 2025, ↓ down 12.0% from fiscal year 2024, the 21st percentile of its disclosed peer group (SEC filing 0001193125-25-312753 ↗): 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.
$7,907,423 ↓ Guillermo Novo total, FY2025 | 21st CEO pay percentile vs peers | 83:1 CEO-to-median pay ratio | 96.7% Say-on-pay support, latest vote |
Track this company's pay every filing: join the Pro seat waitlist
Velarion Pro: every company page, peer tools and exports, one seat — $1,200/year
Ask our research desk — $99, 24h, every figure cited to its filing.
ASH's next annual pay disclosure, estimated December 9, 2026.est. Filing ↗
| Named executive officer | Salary | Bonus | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Pension / NQDC | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guillermo Novo | $1,152,332 | $0 | $5,233,863 | $0 | $1,313,830 | $0 | $207,398 | $7,907,423 |
| Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer | ||||||||
| J. Kevin Willis | 496,943 | 0 | 1,455,194 | 0 | 354,333 | 0 | 100,859 | 2,407,328 |
| Former Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | ||||||||
| William Whitaker | 323,475 | 0 | 1,748,658 | 0 | 243,686 | 0 | 34,549 | 2,350,368 |
| Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | ||||||||
| Alessandra Faccin Assis | 500,347 | 0 | 776,798 | 0 | 286,146 | 0 | 522,888 | 2,086,178 |
| Senior Vice President and General Manager, Life Sciences and Intermediates | ||||||||
| Osama Musa | 520,185 | 0 | 807,638 | 0 | 355,852 | 0 | 60,147 | 1,743,822 |
| Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer | ||||||||
| Karl Bostaph | 383,869 | 0 | 412,919 | 0 | 236,504 | 0 | 503,232 | 1,536,524 |
| Former Senior Vice President Operations | ||||||||
| James Minicucci | 457,460 | 0 | 591,839 | 0 | 311,409 | 0 | 60,793 | 1,421,501 |
| Senior Vice President and General Manager, Personal Care | ||||||||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guillermo Novo | $7,907,423 | $8,981,991 | $6,957,914 | ↓ −1,074,568 |
| J. Kevin Willis | 2,407,328 | 3,059,148 | 2,412,378 | ↓ −651,820 |
| William Whitaker | 2,350,368 | — | — | — |
| Alessandra Faccin Assis | 2,086,178 | 2,010,447 | — | ↑ +75,731 |
| Osama Musa | 1,743,822 | 1,922,667 | 2,298,917 | ↓ −178,845 |
| Karl Bostaph | 1,536,524 | 1,611,196 | — | ↓ −74,672 |
| James Minicucci | 1,421,501 | — | — | — |
Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.
You have just read Ashland's Summary Compensation Table. The whole free brief as a PDF, emailed now, with every figure cited — then a few short notes on the deeper ASH reports.
We send the PDF right away, then up to three short notes. Reply “unsubscribe” to any of them, any time.
How we handle your data → Privacy
Each company listed discloses ASH 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 ASH in an earlier year and no longer does, and one whose own most recent disclosure is older than the last two seasons.
One page per officer: the same table above, read for one person at a time — his own figure and every fiscal year the register holds.
| Executive | Role | FY2025 total |
|---|---|---|
| Guillermo Novo | CEO | $7,907,423 |
| J. Kevin Willis | Executive | $2,407,328 |
| James Minicucci | SVP | $1,421,501 |
| Alessandra Faccin Assis | SVP | $2,086,178 |
| Karl Bostaph | Executive | $1,536,524 |
| Osama Musa | CTO | $1,743,822 |
| William Whitaker | CFO | $2,350,368 |
One page per director: the seat, the committees and the fee table, read for one person at a time.
| Director | Role | FY2025 total |
|---|---|---|
| Ashish K. Kulkarni | Independent Director | $249,978 |
| Jerome A. Peribere | Independent Director | $264,978 |
| Sanat Chattopadhyay | Independent Director | $260,395 |
| Scott A. Tozier | Independent Director | $250,033 |
| Steven D. Bishop | Independent Director | $249,978 |
| Susan L. Main | Lead Independent Director | $284,978 |
| Suzan F. Harrison | Independent Director | $268,300 |
No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.
| Executive | Award | Grant date | Threshold | Target | Granted | Maximum | Grant-date fair value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guillermo Novo | PSU | 2024-11-13 | 19,755 | 39,509 | 26,339 | 79,018 | $5,233,863 |
| James Minicucci | PSU | 2024-11-13 | 2,234 | 4,468 | 2,978 | 8,936 | 591,839 |
| William Whitaker | PSU | 2025-07-18 | 6,466 | 12,931 | 8,620 | 25,862 | 1,485,307 |
| William Whitaker | RSU | 2025-05-15 | — | — | 2,516 | — | 129,977 |
| J. Kevin Willis | PSU | 2024-11-13 | 5,493 | 10,985 | 7,323 | 21,970 | 1,455,194 |
| Karl Bostaph | PSU | 2024-11-13 | 1,559 | 3,117 | 2,078 | 6,234 | 412,919 |
| William Whitaker | PSU | 2024-11-13 | 504 | 1,007 | 671 | 2,014 | 133,375 |
| Alessandra Faccin Assis | PSU | 2024-11-13 | 2,932 | 5,864 | 3,909 | 11,728 | 776,798 |
| Osama Musa | PSU | 2024-11-13 | 3,049 | 6,097 | 4,064 | 12,194 | 807,638 |
| Named executive officer | Time-vested (RSU) | Performance-vested (PSU) | Options / SARs | % performance-vested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guillermo Novo | $0 | $5,233,863 | $0 | 100.0% |
| James Minicucci | 0 | 591,839 | 0 | 100.0% |
| William Whitaker | 129,977 | 1,618,682 | 0 | 92.6% |
| J. Kevin Willis | 0 | 1,455,194 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Karl Bostaph | 0 | 412,919 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Alessandra Faccin Assis | 0 | 776,798 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Osama Musa | 0 | 807,638 | 0 | 100.0% |
% performance-vested = PSU grant-date fair value ÷ (RSU + PSU + Options), a computed value with the derivation shown in the register.
| Executive | Award | Shares unvested | Exercise price | Market value unvested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Whitaker | Option | 1,500 | 77.9 | — |
| William Whitaker | RSU | 12,750 | — | 610,850 |
| William Whitaker | RSU | 732 | — | 56,625 |
| Karl Bostaph | RSU | 2,110 | — | 163,341 |
| J. Kevin Willis | Option | 32,583 | 57.96 | — |
| J. Kevin Willis | PSU | 18,856 | — | 903,391 |
| Guillermo Novo | RSU | 56,917 | — | 2,726,898 |
| Guillermo Novo | PSU | 113,912 | — | 5,457,525 |
| Osama Musa | Option | 5,550 | 82.34 | — |
| Osama Musa | Option | 12,200 | 77.9 | — |
| Osama Musa | RSU | 19,481 | — | 933,313 |
| Osama Musa | PSU | 16,430 | — | 787,176 |
| Osama Musa | Option | 8,650 | 67.16 | — |
| Osama Musa | Option | 9,793 | 57.96 | — |
| James Minicucci | RSU | 9,762 | — | 467,706 |
| James Minicucci | PSU | 8,122 | — | 389,125 |
| Karl Bostaph | Option | 2,350 | 76.76 | — |
| Karl Bostaph | RSU | 4,702 | — | 225,263 |
| J. Kevin Willis | Option | 28,450 | 67.16 | — |
| J. Kevin Willis | Option | 30,229 | 59.41 | — |
| Guillermo Novo | RSU | 32,600 | — | 2,513,119 |
| Osama Musa | RSU | 5,990 | — | 462,279 |
| James Minicucci | RSU | 2,585 | — | 162,616 |
| William Whitaker | PSU | 15,537 | — | 744,398 |
| J. Kevin Willis | RSU | 20,534 | — | 1,354,799 |
| Guillermo Novo | Option | 70,047 | 76.76 | — |
| Karl Bostaph | PSU | 8,007 | — | 383,596 |
Our executive compensation program is designed to create a pay-for-performance culture by aligning compensation to the achievement of our financial and strategic objectives and our stockholders interests. We strive to provide our NEOs with a compensation package that is aligned with our Compensation Peer Group (as defined below), with the expectation, based on a comparison to executives in the Compensation Peer Group and a review of other competitive market information, that above-target performance will result in above-median pay and below-target performance will result in below-median pay.
| CEO STI target (% of salary) | 125% |
|---|---|
| CEO LTI target (% of salary) | — |
| Independent consultant | Meridian Compensation Partners |
| Clawback policy | true |
| Anti-hedging | true |
| Anti-pledging | True |
| Meeting year | Meeting date | For | Against | Abstain | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-01-20 | 36,593,493 | 1,247,959 | 64,001 | 96.7% | Passed |
| 2025 | 2025-01-21 | 39,525,692 | 968,838 | 74,105 | 97.61% | Passed |
| 2024 | 2024-01-23 | 43,704,391 | 482,010 | 94,626 | 98.91% | Passed |
| 2023 | 2023-01-24 | 42,298,244 | 909,742 | 103,616 | 97.89% | Passed |
| 2022 | 2022-01-25 | 47,547,363 | 1,205,120 | 108,441 | 97.53% | Passed |
| 2021 | 2021-01-28 | 48,093,468 | 1,332,725 | 133,291 | 97.3% | 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 | 2026-01-20 | 96.7%a |
| 2025 | 2025-01-21 | 97.61%b |
| 2024 | 2024-01-23 | 98.91%c |
a. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Abstentions and broker non-votes will not be counted as either votes cast for or against the resolution.”.
b. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Abstentions and broker non-votes will not be counted as either votes cast for or against the resolution.”.
c. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Abstentions and broker non-votes will not be counted as votes cast either for or against the nominees and will have no effect on the election of nominees.”.
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.
| Ratio (CEO : median employee) | 83 : 1 |
|---|---|
| CEO total compensation | $7,907,423 |
| Median employee compensation | $95,293 |
| Director | Cash fees | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Susan L. MainIndependent · Lead Independent Director · Audit · Compensation | $135,000 | $149,978 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $284,978 |
| Suzan F. HarrisonIndependent · Compensation (Chair) · Governance and Nominating | 118,322 | 149,978 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 268,300 |
| Jerome A. PeribereIndependent · Audit · Governance and Nominating (Chair) | 115,000 | 149,978 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 264,978 |
| Sanat ChattopadhyayIndependent · Sustainability and Productivity (Chair) · Governance and Nominating | 110,417 | 149,978 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 260,395 |
| Scott A. TozierIndependent · Audit (Chair) · Sustainability and Productivity | 100,055 | 149,978 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 250,033 |
| Steven D. BishopIndependent · Compensation · Sustainability and Productivity | 100,000 | 149,978 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 249,978 |
| Ashish K. KulkarniIndependent · Governance and Nominating · Sustainability and Productivity | 100,000 | 149,978 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 249,978 |
| Guillermo NovoEmployee director · Board Chair | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Annual cash retainer | $100,000 |
|---|---|
| Annual equity retainer | $149,978 |
| Per board meeting fee | — |
| Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov) | 20,000 / 18,750 |
| Stock ownership guideline | $500,000 |
| Component | FY2025 |
|---|---|
| Cash retainers and fees | $778,794 |
| Equity awards (grant-date value) | $1,049,846 |
| All other compensation | $0 |
| Total cost of the board | $1,828,640 |
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 | Ashland | 2025 | Guillermo Novo | $1,152,332 | $5,233,863 | $0 | $1,313,830 | $7,907,423 |
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.
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.
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, Guillermo Novo | DEF 14A | 2025-12-09 | 0001193125-25-312753 | Section “summary compensation table”. As printed: 7,907,423. Filing ↗machine: t125 · r3 · c21 · span 2021429–2021438 |
| 2 | Section 01, J. Kevin Willis | DEF 14A | 2025-12-09 | 0001193125-25-312753 | Section “summary compensation table”. As printed: 2,407,328. Filing ↗machine: t125 · r17 · c21 · span 2146638–2146647 |
| 3 | Section 01, William Whitaker | DEF 14A | 2025-12-09 | 0001193125-25-312753 | Section “summary compensation table”. As printed: 2,350,368. Filing ↗machine: t125 · r6 · c21 · span 2048075–2048084 |
| 4 | Section 01, Alessandra Faccin Assis | DEF 14A | 2025-12-09 | 0001193125-25-312753 | Section “summary compensation table”. As printed: 2,086,178. Filing ↗machine: t125 · r8 · c21 · span 2066023–2066032 |
| 5 | Section 01, Osama Musa | DEF 14A | 2025-12-09 | 0001193125-25-312753 | Section “summary compensation table”. As printed: 1,743,822. Filing ↗machine: t125 · r10 · c21 · span 2084045–2084054 |
| 6 | Section 01, Karl Bostaph | DEF 14A | 2025-12-09 | 0001193125-25-312753 | Section “summary compensation table”. As printed: 1,536,524. Filing ↗machine: t125 · r15 · c21 · span 2128608–2128617 |
| 7 | Section 01, James Minicucci | DEF 14A | 2025-12-09 | 0001193125-25-312753 | Section “summary compensation table”. As printed: 1,421,501. Filing ↗machine: t125 · r13 · c21 · span 2110676–2110685 |
| 8 | Section 03, Guillermo Novo PSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001193125-25-312753 | Section “fiscal 2025 grants of plan-based awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 2323374–2323383 |
| 9 | Section 03, James Minicucci PSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001193125-25-312753 | Section “fiscal 2025 grants of plan-based awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 2408350–2408357 |
| 10 | Section 03, William Whitaker PSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001193125-25-312753 | Section “fiscal 2025 grants of plan-based awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 2365701–2365710 |
| 11 | Section 03, William Whitaker RSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001193125-25-312753 | Section “fiscal 2025 grants of plan-based awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 2351534–2351541 |
| 12 | Section 03, J. Kevin Willis PSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001193125-25-312753 | Section “fiscal 2025 grants of plan-based awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 2436777–2436786 |
| 13 | Section 03, Karl Bostaph PSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001193125-25-312753 | Section “fiscal 2025 grants of plan-based awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 2422560–2422567 |
| 14 | Section 03, William Whitaker PSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001193125-25-312753 | Section “fiscal 2025 grants of plan-based awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 2337516–2337523 |
| 15 | Section 03, Alessandra Faccin Assis PSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001193125-25-312753 | Section “fiscal 2025 grants of plan-based awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 2379925–2379932 |
| 16 | Section 03, Osama Musa PSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001193125-25-312753 | Section “fiscal 2025 grants of plan-based awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 2394137–2394144 |
| 17 | Section 07, pay ratio | DEF 14A | 2025-12-09 | 0001193125-25-312753 | Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 83 : 1. Filing ↗machine: span 3566543–3566547 |
| 18 | Section 08, Susan L. Main | DEF 14A | 2025-12-09 | 0001193125-25-312753 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 284,978. Filing ↗machine: t56 · r8 · c9 · span 728854–729102 |
| 19 | Section 08, Suzan F. Harrison | DEF 14A | 2025-12-09 | 0001193125-25-312753 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 268,300. Filing ↗machine: t56 · r5 · c9 · span 714851–715099 |
| 20 | Section 08, Jerome A. Peribere | DEF 14A | 2025-12-09 | 0001193125-25-312753 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 264,978. Filing ↗machine: t56 · r10 · c9 · span 738262–738510 |
| 21 | Section 08, Sanat Chattopadhyay | DEF 14A | 2025-12-09 | 0001193125-25-312753 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 260,395. Filing ↗machine: t56 · r4 · c9 · span 710249–710497 |
| 22 | Section 08, Scott A. Tozier | DEF 14A | 2025-12-09 | 0001193125-25-312753 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 250,033. Filing ↗machine: t56 · r12 · c9 · span 747662–747910 |
| 23 | Section 08, Steven D. Bishop | DEF 14A | 2025-12-09 | 0001193125-25-312753 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 249,978. Filing ↗machine: t56 · r3 · c9 · span 705645–705893 |
| 24 | Section 08, Ashish K. Kulkarni | DEF 14A | 2025-12-09 | 0001193125-25-312753 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 249,978. Filing ↗machine: t56 · r7 · c9 · span 724256–724504 |
| 25 | Section 08, Guillermo Novo | DEF 14A | 2025-12-09 | 0001193125-25-312753 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗ |
| 26 | Section 06, 2026 vote | Form 8-K | 2026-01-22 | 0001193125-26-019509 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 96.7% (votes for as printed: 36,593,493). Filing ↗ |
| 27 | Section 06, 2025 vote | Form 8-K | 2025-01-22 | 0000950170-25-007842 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 97.61% (votes for as printed: 39,525,692). Filing ↗ |
| 28 | Section 06, 2024 vote | Form 8-K | 2024-01-26 | 0000950170-24-007993 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 98.91% (votes for as printed: 43,704,391). Filing ↗ |
| 29 | Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed) | Computed | — | — | Δ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.machine: formula: Δ = FY(n) − FY(n−1) |
| 30 | Section 03b vehicle mix (computed) | Computed | — | — | RSU / PSU / Options grant-date fair values summed per officer from the grants table; % performance-vested = PSU ÷ (RSU+PSU+Options).machine: formula: sums + PSU ratio |
| 31 | Section 09b board cost (computed) | Computed | — | — | Cash 778,794 + equity 1,049,846 + all other 0 = 1,828,640, summed across the director compensation table rows.machine: formula: Σ = 1,828,640 |
| 32 | Ashland (subject), Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2025-12-09 | 0001193125-25-312753 | CEO total compensation as printed in Ashland's own proxy. As printed: 7,907,423. Filing ↗machine: t125 · r3 · c21 · span 2021429–2021438 |
The Pay Desk — the free weekly executive pay briefing, one company at a time, every number traceable to a public filing.
You'll confirm on The Pay Desk's sign-up page.