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.
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.
| 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.
No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.
| Executive | Award | Grant date | Threshold | Target | Granted | Maximum | Grant-date fair value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leslie Brush | RSU | 2025-02-12 | — | — | 9,429 | — | — |
| Leslie Brush | PSU | 2025-02-12 | 4,715 | 9,429 | — | 14,144 | 187,260 |
| Richard Buskirk | RSU | 2025-02-12 | — | — | 17,394 | — | — |
| Richard Buskirk | PSU | 2025-02-12 | 8,697 | 17,394 | — | 26,091 | 345,444 |
| Marcelo Cardoso | RSU | 2025-02-12 | — | — | 16,533 | — | — |
| Marcelo Cardoso | PSU | 2025-02-12 | 8,267 | 16,533 | — | 24,800 | 328,344 |
| 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 |
| Eilif Serck-Hanssen | RSU | 2025-02-12 | — | — | 88,117 | — | — |
| Named executive officer | Time-vested (RSU) | Performance-vested (PSU) | Options / SARs | % performance-vested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leslie Brush | $0 | $187,260 | $0 | 100.0% |
| Richard Buskirk | 0 | 345,444 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Marcelo Cardoso | 0 | 328,344 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Eilif Serck-Hanssen | 4,843,926 | 1,750,004 | 0 | 26.5% |
% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marcelo Cardoso | RSU | 190,961 | — | $6,429,657 |
| Eilif Serck-Hanssen | RSU | 133,441 | — | 4,492,958 |
| Eilif Serck-Hanssen | PSU | 132,176 | — | 4,450,366 |
| Richard Buskirk | RSU | 127,307 | — | 4,286,427 |
| Eilif Serck-Hanssen | PSU | 69,511 | — | 2,340,435 |
| Eilif Serck-Hanssen | RSU | 58,744 | — | 1,977,910 |
| Eilif Serck-Hanssen | RSU | 34,756 | — | 1,170,235 |
| Eilif Serck-Hanssen | RSU | 26,629 | — | 896,598 |
| Richard Buskirk | PSU | 26,091 | — | 878,484 |
| Marcelo Cardoso | PSU | 24,800 | — | 835,016 |
| Richard Buskirk | RSU | 11,596 | — | 390,437 |
| Richard Buskirk | PSU | 17,575 | — | 591,750 |
| Marcelo Cardoso | PSU | 17,495 | — | 589,057 |
| Leslie Brush | PSU | 14,144 | — | 476,228 |
| Marcelo Cardoso | RSU | 11,022 | — | 371,111 |
| Marcelo Cardoso | PSU | 9,536 | — | 321,077 |
| Richard Buskirk | RSU | 9,399 | — | 316,464 |
| Richard Buskirk | RSU | 8,787 | — | 295,858 |
| Marcelo Cardoso | RSU | 8,748 | — | 294,545 |
| Eilif Serck-Hanssen | RSU | 7,581 | — | 255,252 |
| Leslie Brush | RSU | 6,286 | — | 211,650 |
| Leslie Brush | PSU | 5,271 | — | 177,475 |
| Leslie Brush | RSU | 2,636 | — | 88,754 |
| Leslie Brush | PSU | 2,125 | — | 71,549 |
| Leslie Brush | PSU | 1,383 | — | 46,566 |
| Leslie Brush | RSU | 1,062 | — | 35,758 |
The primary focus of the compensation philosophy is to pay for performance, aligning executive interests with stockholders by linking pay to corporate financial and operational performance. The program is designed to be competitive, with the majority of compensation at risk and no guaranteed payouts, while discouraging excessive risk-taking and encouraging ethical decision-making and educational excellence.
| 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 | — |
| Median employee compensation | $6,883 |
| Director | Cash fees | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew B. CohenIndependent · 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 | $5 |
| 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. | 2025 | Stephen Beard | $1,000,000 | $13,999,529 | $0 | $1,905,625 | $17,244,988 |
| 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 | PSU 50 · RSU 50 | not disclosed | Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC |
| Covista Inc. | not disclosed | PSU 60 · RSU 40 | No | Meridian (July 2024 - February 2025) and Aon Human Capital Solutions (March 2025 - end of FY25) |
| 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.
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, Leslie Brush RSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 561838–561843 |
| 6 | Section 03, Leslie Brush PSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 559342–559349 |
| 7 | Section 03, Richard Buskirk RSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 549584–549590 |
| 8 | Section 03, Richard Buskirk PSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 547088–547095 |
| 9 | Section 03, Marcelo Cardoso RSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 574103–574109 |
| 10 | Section 03, Marcelo Cardoso PSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 571607–571614 |
| 11 | Section 03, Eilif Serck-Hanssen PSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 534826–534835 |
| 12 | Section 03, Eilif Serck-Hanssen RSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 531208–531217 |
| 13 | Section 03, Eilif Serck-Hanssen RSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 537324–537330 |
| 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 866934–866941 |
| 16 | Section 08, Kenneth W. Freeman | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 264,282. Filing ↗machine: span 873728–873735 |
| 17 | Section 08, Judith Rodin | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 261,782. Filing ↗machine: span 878815–878822 |
| 18 | Section 08, Ian K. Snow | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 259,282. Filing ↗machine: span 880918–880925 |
| 19 | Section 08, William J. Davis | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 251,782. Filing ↗machine: span 868629–868636 |
| 20 | Section 08, Barbara Mair | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 251,135. Filing ↗machine: span 875422–875429 |
| 21 | Section 08, Aristides de Macedo | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 244,466. Filing ↗machine: span 872027–872034 |
| 22 | Section 08, Pedro del Corro | DEF 14A | 2026-04-09 | 0001628280-26-024338 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 235,297. Filing ↗machine: span 870326–870333 |
| 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 | — | 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 | — | 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 | — | 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 | 2025-10-02 | 0001104659-25-096070 | CEO total compensation as printed in Covista Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 17,244,988. Filing ↗machine: t220 · r5 · c16 · span 1815856–1815866 |
| 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: t154 · r3 · c17 · span 873029–873038 |
| 33 | 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 ↗ |
| 34 | Section 10a, Covista Inc. reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001104659-25-096070 | Covista Inc. names Laureate Education in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). Filing ↗ |