Velarion · Company Intelligence
Compensation Brief
Fiscal year 2023 · Filings through 2026-07-27

Infinera (INFN)

Fiscal year 2023 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.

$6,663,648
David Heard total, FY2023
12th
CEO pay percentile vs peers
49:1
CEO-to-median pay ratio
98.29%
Say-on-pay support, latest vote
Companies that benchmark against INFN
15 companies name INFN as a compensation peer

Each company listed discloses INFN 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 INFN in an earlier year and no longer does, and one whose own most recent disclosure is older than the last two seasons.

01

Summary Compensation Table — fiscal year 2023

Named executive officerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension / NQDCAll otherTotal
David Heard$729,000$0$5,137,500$0$791,163$0$5,985$6,663,648
Chief Executive Officer
Nancy Erba487,50001,734,3000309,99405,9852,537,779
Chief Financial Officer
Nicholas Walden426,1030959,4000156,3260183,2171,725,045
Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales
David Teichmann430,0000848,7000278,681010,3501,567,731
Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary

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 officerFY2023 totalFY2022 totalFY2021 totalΔ FY20222023
David Heard$6,663,648
Nancy Erba2,537,779
Nicholas Walden1,725,045
David Teichmann1,567,731

Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.

02

Equity transactions since the proxy statement was filed

No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.

03

Grants of plan-based awards — fiscal year 2023

ExecutiveAwardGrant dateThresholdTargetGrantedMaximumGrant-date fair value
David TeichmannPSU2023-03-09657,50057,50086,250$848,700
Nicholas WaldenPSU2023-03-09665,00065,00097,500959,400
David HeardPSU2023-03-136412,500412,500618,7505,137,500
Nancy ErbaPSU2023-03-096117,500117,500176,2501,734,300
03b

Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type

Named executive officerTime-vested (RSU)Performance-vested (PSU)Options / SARs% performance-vested
David Teichmann$0$848,700$0100.0%
Nicholas Walden0959,4000100.0%
David Heard05,137,5000100.0%
Nancy Erba01,734,3000100.0%

% performance-vested = PSU grant-date fair value ÷ (RSU + PSU + Options), a computed value with the derivation shown in the register.

04

Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end 2023

ExecutiveAwardShares unvestedExercise priceMarket value unvested
Nancy ErbaRSU92,500$439,375
David TeichmannRSU8,33439,587
Nicholas WaldenRSU64,000304,000
Nicholas WaldenRSU26,667126,668
David HeardRSU28,667136,168
David HeardPSU258,0001,225,500
David HeardRSU96,296457,406
David HeardRSU346,6661,646,664
David HeardRSU337,5001,603,125
David HeardPSU412,5001,959,375
Nancy ErbaRSU38,542183,075
Nancy ErbaRSU117,500558,125
David TeichmannRSU132,608872,043
David TeichmannRSU22,917108,856
David HeardRSU285,8981,654,003
Nicholas WaldenRSU66,667402,485
Nicholas WaldenPSU55,000261,250
David TeichmannRSU57,500273,125
Nancy ErbaRSU10,00047,500
Nicholas WaldenRSU65,000308,750
Nancy ErbaRSU228,0171,160,177
Nicholas WaldenRSU9,16743,543
Nicholas WaldenPSU65,000308,750
David TeichmannRSU55,000261,250
Nancy ErbaPSU60,000285,000
Nancy ErbaPSU117,500558,125
David TeichmannPSU50,000237,500
David TeichmannPSU57,500273,125
05

Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis

Our executive compensation program is designed to attract, retain, and reward talented executive officers and to motivate them to pursue our corporate objectives, while fostering the creation of long-term value for our stockholders. To achieve this mission, we take a pay-for-performance approach that forms the foundation for the design of our executive compensation program.

CEO STI target (% of salary)125%
CEO LTI target (% of salary)
Independent consultantCompensia
Clawback policyTrue
Anti-hedgingTrue
Anti-pledgingTrue
06

Say-on-pay — recent advisory votes

Meeting yearMeeting dateForAgainstAbstainSupportOutcome
20232023-05-18148,480,9472,414,517174,60598.29%Passed
20222022-05-19141,203,2552,036,827621,76298.15%Passed
20212021-05-21121,316,7064,139,9501,728,32595.39%Passed
20202020-05-21109,514,62317,730,6131,425,78085.11%Passed
20192019-05-23110,254,4813,426,767102,14996.9%Passed
20182018-05-24102,935,7523,584,939409,57496.26%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
20232023-05-1898.29%a
20222022-05-1998.15%b
20212021-05-2195.39%c

a. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Abstentions will have the same effect as an "AGAINST" vote.”.

b. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Abstentions will have the same effect as an “AGAINST” vote.”.

c. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Abstentions will have the same effect as an “AGAINST” vote.”.

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.

07

CEO pay ratio

Ratio (CEO : median employee)49 : 1
CEO total compensation$6,663,648
Median employee compensation$134,941
08

Director compensation — fiscal year 2023

DirectorCash feesStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveAll otherTotal
George A. RiedelIndependent · Board Chair · Nominating and Governance (Chair)$131,000$199,996$0$0$0$330,996
Paul J. MilburyIndependent · Audit · Compensation79,087199,996000279,083
Roop K. LakkarajuIndependent · Audit (Chair)73,413199,996000273,409
Sharon E. HoltIndependent · Compensation (Chair)70,000199,996000269,996
Gregory P. DoughertyIndependent · Compensation · Nominating and Governance66,000199,996000265,996
Christine B. BucklinIndependent · Audit62,500199,996000262,496
David F. Welch, Ph.DEmployee director00000
Amy H. RiceIndependent · Nominating and Governance000000
David W. HeardEmployee director00000
09

Board fee structure and ownership guideline

Annual cash retainer$50,000
Annual equity retainer$200,000
Per board meeting fee
Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov)30,000 / 20,000 / 11,000
Stock ownership guideline4x annual cash retainer ($200,000)
09b

Total cost of the board

ComponentFY2023
Cash retainers and fees$482,000
Equity awards (grant-date value)$1,199,976
All other compensation$0
Total cost of the board$1,681,976

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

10

Disclosed peer group — fiscal year 2023

The compensation peer group as the company disclosed it in its own proxy — the reference set behind the percentile above.

10a

Peer reciprocity

Of the companies Infinera names as compensation peers, which name it back in their own disclosed peer groups. A peer set the market reciprocates reads differently from one selected in a single direction.

Reciprocity shown where the peer's own current proxy has been read — each mark is cited in the register to that peer's filing. A dash means the peer's current proxy was read and names no reciprocal group including Infinera.

10b

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
1Lumentum Holdings Inc.2025Michael Hurlston$315,000$24,740,145$0$603,353$27,670,076
2Ciena Corporation2025Gary Smith1,075,00014,637,53802,805,00018,530,396
3Ribbon Communications Inc.2025Bruce McClelland750,00016,370,8200225,18817,457,675
4ViaSat, Inc.2026Mark Dankberg1,406,53810,305,39002,450,00014,208,178
5Extreme Networks, Inc.2025Edward Meyercord840,00011,116,7240981,16212,958,781
6Synaptics Incorporated2025Michael Hurlston467,08310,870,7080011,342,590
7Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.2025Stephen Kelley977,7928,426,22101,767,09511,187,208
8Calix, Inc.2025Michael Weening560,00009,227,8291,023,34910,820,080
9Cirrus Logic, Inc.2026John Forsyth715,8509,000,18401,040,21010,769,395
10Viavi Solutions Inc.2025Oleg Khaykin900,0009,114,2770576,56210,595,839
11NETGEAR, Inc.2025Charles Prober767,7408,603,20501,181,73110,555,676
12MaxLinear, Inc.2025Kishore Seendripu721,4447,095,625007,817,568
13ADTRAN Holdings, Inc.2025Thomas Stanton1,022,6853,763,04102,884,0007,683,726
14OSI Systems, Inc.2025Ajay Mehra621,4485,269,72001,500,0007,512,141
15Infinera2023David Heard729,0005,137,5000791,1636,663,648
16Diodes Incorporated2025Gary Yu700,2192,722,4230878,3594,331,731
17NetScout Systems, Inc.2026Anil Singhal594,8251,346,2560999,9153,206,287

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.

10c

Incentive design against the same peers

CompanyAnnual incentive payoutLong-term vehicle mixPSU measures include TSRCompensation consultant
Infinera83.5%PSU 55 · RSU 45NoCompensia
ADTRAN Holdings, Inc.200%RSU 57 · PSU 43NoPay Governance LLC
Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.144.4%PSU 60 · RSU 40NoCompensia, Inc.
Calix, Inc.108%Options 100NoCompensia
Ciena Corporation170%RSU 40 · PSU 36 · MSU 24NoCompensia
Cirrus Logic, Inc.117.5%MSU 60 · RSU 40NoCompensia, Inc.
Diodes Incorporated105%PSU 50 · RSU 50NoPay Governance LLC
Extreme Networks, Inc.89.9%PSU 50 · RSU 50NoCompensia, Inc.
Lumentum Holdings Inc.132.19%PSU 50 · RSU 50YesSemler Brossy
MaxLinear, Inc.131%PSU 50 · RSU 50NoCompensia
NETGEAR, Inc.128%PSU 50 · RSU 50Yes — Relative TSR RankFW Cook
NetScout Systems, Inc.174.7%RSU 60 · PSU 40Yes — Relative Total Shareholder Return (rTSR) vs. Russell 2000 Indexnot disclosed
OSI Systems, Inc.not disclosedPSU 100NoPearl Meyer
Ribbon Communications Inc.30%PSU 50 · RSU 50Yes — Relative TSRFW Cook
Synaptics Incorporated121.2%MSU 34 · PSU 33 · RSU 33NoCompensia, Inc.
ViaSat, Inc.121%RSU 50 · PSU 25 · Cash LTI 25Yes — Relative Total Shareholder Return (TSR) vs. Russell 3000 IndexCompensia
Viavi Solutions Inc.51.2%RSU 40Yes — Total Shareholder Return (TSR) relative to Nasdaq Telecommunications IndexCompensia, Inc.

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.

11

Source register

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.

#SupportsDocumentFiledAccessionLocation in document
1Section 01, David HeardDEF 14A2024-05-170001138639-24-000128Section “Fiscal 2023 Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 6,663,648. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c42 · span 746411–746420
2Section 01, Nancy ErbaDEF 14A2024-05-170001138639-24-000128Section “Fiscal 2023 Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 2,537,779. Filing ↗machine: r5 · c42 · span 755485–755494
3Section 01, Nicholas WaldenDEF 14A2024-05-170001138639-24-000128Section “Fiscal 2023 Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 1,725,045. Filing ↗machine: span 774152–774161
4Section 01, David TeichmannDEF 14A2024-05-170001138639-24-000128Section “Fiscal 2023 Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 1,567,731. Filing ↗machine: r8 · c42 · span 764560–764569
5Section 03, David Teichmann PSUDEF 14A2024-05-170001138639-24-000128Section “EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION TABLES” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t54 · r8 · c10 · span 763313–763320
6Section 03, Nicholas Walden PSUDEF 14A2024-05-170001138639-24-000128Section “EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION TABLES” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t54 · r11 · c10 · span 772676–772683
7Section 03, David Heard PSUDEF 14A2024-05-170001138639-24-000128Section “EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION TABLES” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t54 · r2 · c10 · span 745163–745172
8Section 03, Nancy Erba PSUDEF 14A2024-05-170001138639-24-000128Section “EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION TABLES” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t54 · r5 · c10 · span 754237–754246
9Section 07, pay ratioDEF 14A0001138639-24-000128Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 49 : 1.machine: span 892454–892461
10Section 08, George A. RiedelDEF 14A2024-05-170001138639-24-000128Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 330,996. Filing ↗machine: t36 · r8 · c14 · span 453843–453850
11Section 08, Paul J. MilburyDEF 14A2024-05-170001138639-24-000128Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 279,083. Filing ↗machine: t36 · r6 · c14 · span 449189–449196
12Section 08, Roop K. LakkarajuDEF 14A2024-05-170001138639-24-000128Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 273,409. Filing ↗machine: t36 · r5 · c14 · span 446834–446841
13Section 08, Sharon E. HoltDEF 14A2024-05-170001138639-24-000128Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 269,996. Filing ↗machine: t36 · r4 · c14 · span 444488–444495
14Section 08, Gregory P. DoughertyDEF 14A2024-05-170001138639-24-000128Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 265,996. Filing ↗machine: t36 · r3 · c14 · span 442134–442141
15Section 08, Christine B. BucklinDEF 14A2024-05-170001138639-24-000128Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 262,496. Filing ↗machine: t36 · r2 · c14 · span 439774–439781
16Section 08, David F. Welch, Ph.DDEF 14A2024-05-170001138639-24-000128Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗
17Section 08, Amy H. RiceDEF 14A2024-05-170001138639-24-000128Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗
18Section 08, David W. HeardDEF 14A2024-05-170001138639-24-000128Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗
19Section 06, 2023 voteForm 8-K2023-05-180001138639-23-000094Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 98.29% (votes for as printed: 148,480,947). Filing ↗
20Section 06, 2022 voteForm 8-K2022-05-190001138639-22-000074Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 98.15% (votes for as printed: 141,203,255). Filing ↗machine: span 47293–49537
21Section 06, 2021 voteForm 8-K2021-05-240001138639-21-000089Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 95.39%. Filing ↗
22Section 03b vehicle mix (computed)ComputedcomputedRSU / PSU / Options grant-date fair values summed per officer from the grants table; % performance-vested = PSU ÷ (RSU+PSU+Options).machine: formula: sums + PSU ratio
23Section 09b board cost (computed)ComputedcomputedCash 482,000 + equity 1,199,976 + all other 0 = 1,681,976, summed across the director compensation table rows.machine: formula: Σ = 1,681,976
24Lumentum Holdings Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2025-10-070001308179-25-000615CEO total compensation as printed in Lumentum Holdings Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 27,670,076. Filing ↗machine: t322 · r1 · c14 · span 769843–769853
25Ciena Corporation, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-02-120001193125-26-047977CEO total compensation as printed in Ciena Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 18,530,396. Filing ↗machine: t84 · r2 · c29 · span 2162981–2162991
26Ribbon Communications Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-170001104659-26-044643CEO total compensation as printed in Ribbon Communications Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 17,457,675. Filing ↗machine: t160 · r1 · c42 · span 1626864–1626874
27ViaSat, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-07-270001193125-26-318060CEO total compensation as printed in ViaSat, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 14,208,178. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c39 · span 764367–764377
28Extreme Networks, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2025-09-260001193125-25-220467CEO total compensation as printed in Extreme Networks, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 12,958,781. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c29 · span 1449934–1449944
29Synaptics Incorporated, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2025-09-160000817720-25-000083CEO total compensation as printed in Synaptics Incorporated's own proxy. As printed: 11,342,590. Filing ↗machine: t315 · r8 · c20 · span 1675805–1675815
30Advanced Energy Industries, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-260001104659-26-035159CEO total compensation as printed in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 11,187,208. Filing ↗machine: t198 · r9 · c18 · span 1327835–1327845
31Calix, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-270001406666-26-000006CEO total compensation as printed in Calix, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 10,820,080. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c42 · span 648399–648409
32Cirrus Logic, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-06-030000772406-26-000024CEO total compensation as printed in Cirrus Logic, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 10,769,395. Filing ↗machine: span 798834–798844
33Viavi Solutions Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2025-10-030001628280-25-043990CEO total compensation as printed in Viavi Solutions Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 10,595,839. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c21 · span 1093592–1093602
34NETGEAR, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-160001193125-26-159312CEO total compensation as printed in NETGEAR, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 10,555,676. Filing ↗machine: t84 · r4 · c27 · span 1491692–1491702
35MaxLinear, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-020001288469-26-000021CEO total compensation as printed in MaxLinear, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 7,817,568. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c33 · span 860942–860951
36ADTRAN Holdings, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-270001193125-26-127315CEO total compensation as printed in ADTRAN Holdings, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 7,683,726. Filing ↗machine: t94 · r5 · c30 · span 1321525–1321534
37OSI Systems, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2025-10-220001104659-25-101517CEO total compensation as printed in OSI Systems, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 7,512,141. Filing ↗machine: r1 · c54 · span 1051906–1051915
38Infinera (subject), Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2024-05-170001138639-24-000128CEO total compensation as printed in Infinera's own proxy. As printed: 6,663,648. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c42 · span 746411–746420
39Diodes Incorporated, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-010001193125-26-138028CEO total compensation as printed in Diodes Incorporated's own proxy. As printed: 4,331,731. Filing ↗machine: r5 · c12 · span 1101056–1101065
40NetScout Systems, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-07-240001193125-26-316095CEO total compensation as printed in NetScout Systems, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 3,206,287. Filing ↗machine: r4 · c25 · span 2186913–2186922
41Section 10a, OSI Systems, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001104659-25-101517OSI Systems, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Infinera. Filing ↗
42Section 10a, MaxLinear, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001288469-26-000021MaxLinear, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Infinera. Filing ↗
43Section 10a, Extreme Networks, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001193125-25-220467Extreme Networks, Inc. names Infinera in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). Filing ↗
44Section 10a, Ribbon Communications Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001104659-26-044643Ribbon Communications Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Infinera. Filing ↗
45Section 10a, ADTRAN Holdings, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001193125-26-127315ADTRAN Holdings, Inc. names Infinera in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). Filing ↗
46Section 10a, NetScout Systems, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001193125-25-165434NetScout Systems, Inc. names Infinera in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). Filing ↗
47Section 10a, Synaptics Incorporated reciprocityDEF 14A0000817720-25-000083Synaptics Incorporated's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Infinera. Filing ↗
48Section 10a, Diodes Incorporated reciprocityDEF 14A0001193125-26-138028Diodes Incorporated's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Infinera. Filing ↗
49Section 10a, Cirrus Logic, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0000772406-26-000024Cirrus Logic, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Infinera. Filing ↗
50Section 10a, Lumentum Holdings Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001308179-25-000615Lumentum Holdings Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Infinera. Filing ↗
51Section 10a, NETGEAR, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001193125-26-159312NETGEAR, Inc. names Infinera in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). Filing ↗
52Section 10a, Ciena Corporation reciprocityDEF 14A0001193125-26-047977Ciena Corporation's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Infinera. Filing ↗
53Section 10a, Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001104659-26-035159Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Infinera. Filing ↗
54Section 10a, Calix, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001406666-26-000006Calix, Inc. names Infinera in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). Filing ↗