CEO Eilif Serck-Hanssen was paid $10,975,343 in fiscal year 2025, ↑ up 121.6% from fiscal year 2024, the 67th percentile of its disclosed peer group (SEC filing 0001628280-26-024338 ↗): 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.
$10,975,343 ↑ Eilif Serck-Hanssen total, FY2025 | 67th CEO pay percentile vs peers | 1,595:1 CEO-to-median pay ratio | 94.72% 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.
LAUR's next annual pay disclosure, estimated April 7, 2027.est. Filing ↗
| Named executive officer | Salary | Bonus | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Pension / NQDC | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eilif Serck-Hanssen | $1,000,000 | $0 | $8,343,934 | $0 | $1,606,800 | $0 | $24,609 | $10,975,343 |
| President and Chief Executive Officer | ||||||||
| Marcelo Cardoso | 501,266 | 0 | 656,688 | 0 | 625,438 | 0 | 235,060 | 2,018,452 |
| Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer | ||||||||
| Richard Buskirk | 472,089 | 0 | 690,888 | 0 | 630,000 | 0 | 21,000 | 1,813,977 |
| Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | ||||||||
| Leslie Brush | 397,906 | 0 | 374,520 | 0 | 370,000 | 0 | 21,000 | 1,163,426 |
| Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and 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.
| Named executive officer | FY2025 total | FY2024 total | FY2023 total | Δ FY2024→2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eilif Serck-Hanssen | $10,975,343 | $4,951,670 | $4,463,266 | ↑ +6,023,673 |
| Marcelo Cardoso | 2,018,452 | 4,975,153 | 1,915,930 | ↓ −2,956,701 |
| Richard Buskirk | 1,813,977 | 3,699,108 | 1,560,884 | ↓ −1,885,131 |
| Leslie Brush | 1,163,426 | 1,017,038 | — | ↑ +146,388 |
Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.
You have just read Laureate Education's Summary Compensation Table. The whole free brief as a PDF, sent in 2 minutes, with every figure cited — then a few short notes on the deeper LAUR reports.
We send the PDF within 2 minutes, then up to three short notes. Reply “unsubscribe” to any of them, any time.
How we handle your data → Privacy
Each company listed discloses LAUR 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 LAUR 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Eilif Serck-Hanssen | CEO | $10,975,343 |
| Richard Buskirk | CFO | $1,813,977 |
| Leslie Brush | General Counsel | $1,163,426 |
| Marcelo Cardoso | COO | $2,018,452 |
One page per director: the seat, the committees and the fee table, read for one person at a time.
| Director | Role | FY2025 total |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew B. Cohen | Chair of the Board | $379,418 |
| Aristides de Macedo | Independent Director | $244,466 |
| Barbara Mair | Independent Director | $251,135 |
| Ian K. Snow | Independent Director | $259,282 |
| Judith Rodin | Independent Director | $261,782 |
| Kenneth W. Freeman | Independent Director | $264,282 |
| Pedro del Corro | Independent Director | $235,297 |
| William J. Davis | Independent Director | $251,782 |
No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.
| Executive | Award | Grant date | Threshold | Target | Granted | Maximum | Grant-date fair value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eilif Serck-Hanssen | PSU | 2025-02-12 | 44,059 | 88,117 | — | 132,176 | $1,750,004 |
| Eilif Serck-Hanssen | RSU | 2025-01-02 | — | — | 266,883 | — | 4,843,926 |
| Marcelo Cardoso | PSU | 2025-02-12 | 8,267 | 16,533 | — | 24,800 | 328,344 |
| Leslie Brush | PSU | 2025-02-12 | 4,715 | 9,429 | — | 14,144 | 187,260 |
| Richard Buskirk | RSU | 2025-02-12 | — | — | 17,394 | — | 345,444 |
| Leslie Brush | RSU | 2025-02-12 | — | — | 9,429 | — | 187,260 |
| Marcelo Cardoso | RSU | 2025-02-12 | — | — | 16,533 | — | 328,344 |
| Eilif Serck-Hanssen | RSU | 2025-02-12 | — | — | 88,117 | — | 1,750,004 |
| Richard Buskirk | PSU | 2025-02-12 | 8,697 | 17,394 | — | 26,091 | 345,444 |
| Named executive officer | Time-vested (RSU) | Performance-vested (PSU) | Options / SARs | % performance-vested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eilif Serck-Hanssen | $6,593,930 | $1,750,004 | $0 | 21.0% |
| Marcelo Cardoso | 328,344 | 328,344 | 0 | 50.0% |
| Leslie Brush | 187,260 | 187,260 | 0 | 50.0% |
| Richard Buskirk | 345,444 | 345,444 | 0 | 50.0% |
% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eilif Serck-Hanssen | PSU | 69,511 | — | $2,340,435 |
| Eilif Serck-Hanssen | RSU | 133,441 | — | 4,492,958 |
| Eilif Serck-Hanssen | RSU | 34,756 | — | 1,170,235 |
| Marcelo Cardoso | PSU | 17,495 | — | 589,057 |
| Eilif Serck-Hanssen | RSU | 7,581 | — | 255,252 |
| Marcelo Cardoso | RSU | 190,961 | — | 6,429,657 |
| Eilif Serck-Hanssen | PSU | 132,176 | — | 4,450,366 |
| Richard Buskirk | RSU | 127,307 | — | 4,286,427 |
| Marcelo Cardoso | RSU | 77,913 | — | 2,623,331 |
| Leslie Brush | PSU | 5,271 | — | 177,475 |
| Eilif Serck-Hanssen | RSU | 58,744 | — | 1,977,910 |
| Richard Buskirk | RSU | 57,021 | — | 1,919,895 |
| Eilif Serck-Hanssen | RSU | 26,629 | — | 896,598 |
| Richard Buskirk | PSU | 26,091 | — | 878,484 |
| Marcelo Cardoso | PSU | 24,800 | — | 835,016 |
| Richard Buskirk | PSU | 17,575 | — | 591,750 |
| Leslie Brush | PSU | 14,144 | — | 476,228 |
| Leslie Brush | PSU | 2,125 | — | 71,549 |
| Richard Buskirk | RSU | 11,596 | — | 390,437 |
| Marcelo Cardoso | RSU | 11,022 | — | 371,111 |
| Marcelo Cardoso | RSU | 8,748 | — | 294,545 |
| Marcelo Cardoso | PSU | 9,536 | — | 321,077 |
| Richard Buskirk | RSU | 9,399 | — | 316,464 |
| Leslie Brush | PSU | 1,383 | — | 46,566 |
| Richard Buskirk | RSU | 8,787 | — | 295,858 |
| Leslie Brush | RSU | 6,286 | — | 211,650 |
| Leslie Brush | RSU | 2,636 | — | 88,754 |
| Leslie Brush | RSU | 1,062 | — | 35,758 |
We design motivational incentives for our leaders to align their interests with three main priorities that are also important to our investors: value creation and delivery through superior operating performance; a clear emphasis on long-term organizational financial stability and viability; and securing and safeguarding the talent to manage and continue to achieve our stated business objectives.
| CEO STI target (% of salary) | — |
|---|---|
| CEO LTI target (% of salary) | — |
| Independent consultant | Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC |
| Clawback policy | true |
| Anti-hedging | true |
| Anti-pledging | true |
| Meeting year | Meeting date | For | Against | Abstain | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-05-21 | 123,923,828 | 5,954,593 | 959,619 | 94.72% | Passed |
| 2025 | 2025-05-22 | 130,692,930 | 4,667,261 | 51,509 | 96.52% | Passed |
| 2024 | 2024-05-30 | 131,822,019 | 4,741,454 | 75,270 | 96.47% | Passed |
| 2023 | 2023-05-24 | 124,545,759 | 4,650,949 | 1,609,575 | 95.21% | Passed |
| 2022 | 2022-05-25 | 150,307,104 | 2,886,531 | 1,019,796 | 97.47% | Passed |
| 2021 | 2021-05-26 | 765,904,741 | 7,619,642 | 375 | 99.01% | 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 | 2026-05-21 | 94.72%a |
| 2025 | 2025-05-22 | 96.52%b |
| 2024 | 2024-05-30 | 96.47%c |
a. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Abstentions will have the effect of a vote against Proposal 2 and broker non-votes will not impact the outcome.”.
b. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Abstentions will have the effect of a vote against Proposal 2 and broker non-votes will not impact the outcome.”.
c. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Abstentions will have the effect of a vote against Proposal 2 and broker non-votes will not impact the outcome.”.
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) | 1,595 : 1 |
|---|---|
| CEO total compensation | $10,975,343 |
| Median employee compensation | $6,883 |
| Director | Cash fees | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew B. CohenIndependent · Board Chair · Compensation · Nominating and Corporate Governance | $153,015 | $226,403 | — | — | — | $379,418 |
| Kenneth W. FreemanIndependent · Compensation · Nominating and Corporate Governance | 108,599 | 155,683 | — | — | — | 264,282 |
| Judith RodinIndependent · Nominating and Corporate Governance (Chair) | 63,627 | 198,155 | — | — | — | 261,782 |
| Ian K. SnowIndependent · Compensation (Chair) · Nominating and Corporate Governance | 103,599 | 155,683 | — | — | — | 259,282 |
| William J. DavisIndependent · Audit and Risk | 96,099 | 155,683 | — | — | — | 251,782 |
| Barbara MairIndependent · Audit and Risk | 95,452 | 155,683 | — | — | — | 251,135 |
| Aristides de MacedoIndependent · Audit and Risk | 88,783 | 155,683 | — | — | — | 244,466 |
| Pedro del CorroIndependent · Compensation | 79,614 | 155,683 | — | — | — | 235,297 |
| Annual cash retainer | $85,000 |
|---|---|
| Annual equity retainer | $175,000 |
| Per board meeting fee | — |
| Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov) | 25,000 / 15,000 / 15,000 |
| Stock ownership guideline | each covered director is expected to own a number of shares equal to or greater than five times the cash portion of the annual board retainer (currently $85,000). |
| Component | FY2025 |
|---|---|
| Cash retainers and fees | $788,788 |
| Equity awards (grant-date value) | $1,358,656 |
| All other compensation | $0 |
| Total cost of the board | $2,147,444 |
Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.
The compensation peer group as the company disclosed it in its own proxy — the reference set behind the percentile above.
Of the companies Laureate Education 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 Laureate Education.
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 | Covista Inc. | 2026 | Stephen Beard | $1,000,000 | $15,999,916 | $0 | $1,810,078 | $19,016,418 |
| 2 | Laureate Education | 2025 | Eilif Serck-Hanssen | 1,000,000 | 8,343,934 | 0 | 1,606,800 | 10,975,343 |
| 3 | Strategic Education, Inc. | 2025 | Karl McDonnell | 1,018,009 | 3,250,000 | 0 | 1,393,558 | 5,672,067 |
| 4 | Grand Canyon Education, Inc. | 2025 | Brian Mueller | 321,000 | 1,211,668 | 0 | 481,500 | 2,020,867 |
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.
| Company | Annual incentive payout | Long-term vehicle mix | PSU measures include TSR | Compensation consultant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laureate Education | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC |
| Covista Inc. | not disclosed | PSU 70 · RSU 30 | not disclosed | Aon |
| Grand Canyon Education, Inc. | 150% | RSU 100 | not disclosed | Mercer |
| Strategic Education, Inc. | 108.8% | RSU 100 | not disclosed | Equilar, 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.
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, Eilif Serck-Hanssen | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 10,975,343. Filing ↗machine: r4 · c24 · span 469288–469298 |
| 2 | Section 01, Marcelo Cardoso | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 2,018,452. Filing ↗machine: r16 · c24 · span 497749–497758 |
| 3 | Section 01, Richard Buskirk | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 1,813,977. Filing ↗machine: r8 · c24 · span 478981–478990 |
| 4 | Section 01, Leslie Brush | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 1,163,426. Filing ↗machine: r12 · c24 · span 489200–489209 |
| 5 | Section 03, Eilif Serck-Hanssen PSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 534826–534835 |
| 6 | Section 03, Eilif Serck-Hanssen RSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 531208–531217 |
| 7 | Section 03, Marcelo Cardoso PSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 571607–571614 |
| 8 | Section 03, Leslie Brush PSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 559342–559349 |
| 9 | Section 03, Richard Buskirk RSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 550477–550484 |
| 10 | Section 03, Leslie Brush RSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 562730–562737 |
| 11 | Section 03, Marcelo Cardoso RSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 574996–575003 |
| 12 | Section 03, Eilif Serck-Hanssen RSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 538217–538226 |
| 13 | Section 03, Richard Buskirk PSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 547088–547095 |
| 14 | Section 07, pay ratio | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 1595 : 1. Filing ↗machine: span 766926–766931 |
| 15 | Section 08, Andrew B. Cohen | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 379,418. Filing ↗machine: span 866828–866954 |
| 16 | Section 08, Kenneth W. Freeman | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 264,282. Filing ↗machine: span 873622–873748 |
| 17 | Section 08, Judith Rodin | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 261,782. Filing ↗machine: span 878709–878835 |
| 18 | Section 08, Ian K. Snow | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 259,282. Filing ↗machine: span 880812–880938 |
| 19 | Section 08, William J. Davis | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 251,782. Filing ↗machine: span 868523–868649 |
| 20 | Section 08, Barbara Mair | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 251,135. Filing ↗machine: span 875316–875442 |
| 21 | Section 08, Aristides de Macedo | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 244,466. Filing ↗machine: span 871921–872047 |
| 22 | Section 08, Pedro del Corro | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 235,297. Filing ↗machine: span 870220–870346 |
| 23 | Section 06, 2026 vote | Form 8-K | 2026-05-27 | 0001628280-26-038452 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 94.72% (votes for as printed: 123,923,828). Filing ↗ |
| 24 | Section 06, 2025 vote | Form 8-K | 2025-05-27 | 0001628280-25-027902 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 96.52% (votes for as printed: 130,692,930). Filing ↗ |
| 25 | Section 06, 2024 vote | Form 8-K | 2024-06-05 | 0001628280-24-026876 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 96.47% (votes for as printed: 131,822,019). Filing ↗ |
| 26 | 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) |
| 27 | 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 |
| 28 | Section 09b board cost (computed) | Computed | — | — | Cash 788,788 + equity 1,358,656 + all other 0 = 2,147,444, summed across the director compensation table rows.machine: formula: Σ = 2,147,444 |
| 29 | Covista Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-10-02 | 0001104659-26-113316 | CEO total compensation as printed in Covista Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 19,016,418. Filing ↗ |
| 30 | Laureate Education (subject), Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | CEO total compensation as printed in Laureate Education's own proxy. As printed: 10,975,343. Filing ↗machine: r4 · c24 · span 469288–469298 |
| 31 | Strategic Education, Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-03-11 | 0001104659-26-026380 | CEO total compensation as printed in Strategic Education, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 5,672,067. Filing ↗machine: span 569797–569806 |
| 32 | Grand Canyon Education, Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-23 | 0001104659-26-047719 | CEO total compensation as printed in Grand Canyon Education, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 2,020,867. Filing ↗machine: span 873029–873038 |
| 33 | Section 10a, Grand Canyon Education, Inc. reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001104659-26-047719 | Grand Canyon Education, Inc. names Laureate Education in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). Filing ↗ |
| 34 | Section 10a, Strategic Education, Inc. reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001104659-26-026380 | Strategic Education, Inc. names Laureate Education in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). Filing ↗ |
| 35 | Section 10a, Covista Inc. reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001104659-26-113316 | Covista Inc. names Laureate Education in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). Filing ↗ |