Velarion · Company Intelligence
Compensation Brief
Fiscal year 2025 · Filings through 2026-08-28

Lightwave Logic (LWLG)

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.

$8,614,697
Yves LeMaitre total, FY2025
89th
CEO pay percentile vs peers
CEO-to-median pay ratio
82.26%
Say-on-pay support, latest vote
Companies that benchmark against LWLG
1 company names LWLG as a compensation peer

Each company listed discloses LWLG 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 LWLG 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 2025

Named executive officerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension / NQDCAll otherTotal
Yves LeMaitre$443,939$300,000$7,866,451$0$0$0$4,307$8,614,697
CEO
James Marcelli385,8750284,87848,068003,623722,444
CFO, COO
Thomas Zelibor360,00075,000218,4060003,375656,781
President

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 officerFY2025 totalFY2024 totalFY2023 totalΔ FY20242025
Yves LeMaitre$8,614,697$626,873+7,987,824
James Marcelli722,444814,509−92,065
Thomas Zelibor656,781286,895+369,886

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 2025

ExecutiveAwardGrant dateThresholdTargetGrantedMaximumGrant-date fair value
Yves LeMaitreRSU2025-09-121,616,380$5,204,744
Yves LeMaitreRSU2025-09-12826,6172,661,707
James MarcelliOPTION2025-02-06299,871
Thomas ZeliborRSU2025-04-18235,453229,901
03b

Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type

Named executive officerTime-vested (RSU)Performance-vested (PSU)Options / SARs% performance-vested
Yves LeMaitre$7,866,451$0$00.0%
James Marcelli00299,8710.0%
Thomas Zelibor229,901000.0%

% 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 2025

ExecutiveAwardShares unvestedExercise priceMarket value unvested
Yves LeMaitrePSU2,442,997$7,915,310
James MarcelliRSU250,000810,000
Yves LeMaitrePSU4,30813,958
Yves LeMaitreRSU85,0000
05

Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis

The compensation program is performance-based and designed to attract, retain, and motivate talented executives critical to the advancement of the Company's commercialization roadmap, while aligning the interests of management with those of stockholders through long-term equity incentives. The program aims to be market-based, focus on measurable technical and commercial milestones, and remain affordable within the context of the Company's operating expense model.

CEO STI target (% of salary)
CEO LTI target (% of salary)
Independent consultantMeridian Compensation Partners, LLC and Aon plc
Clawback policytrue
Anti-hedgingtrue
Anti-pledgingtrue
06

Say-on-pay — recent advisory votes

Meeting yearMeeting dateForAgainstAbstainSupportOutcome
20242024-05-2225,303,7455,455,1751,387,24482.26%Passed
20212021-05-2719,016,6621,747,7591,033,47491.58%Passed
20182018-05-1720,611,182246,065575,54598.82%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
20242024-05-2282.26%a
20212021-05-2791.58%b
20182018-05-1798.82%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.

08

Director compensation — fiscal year 2025

DirectorCash feesStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveAll otherTotal
Siraj Nour El-AhmadiNot independent$30,000$100,000$0$0$240,000$370,000
Ronald A. BucchiIndependent · Board Chair · Audit (Chair) · Nominating and Corporate Governance70,750100,000000170,750
Laila S. PartridgeIndependent · Audit · Compensation (Chair) · Nominating and Corporate Governance42,250100,000000142,250
Thomas Connelly JrIndependent · Compensation · Nominating and Corporate Governance (Chair)38,625100,000000138,625
Craig CieslaIndependent · Audit · Compensation · Nominating and Corporate Governance33,375100,000000133,375
Yves LeMaitreEmployee director0
09

Board fee structure and ownership guideline

Annual cash retainer$30,000
Annual equity retainer$100,000
Per board meeting fee
Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov)12,000 / 10,000 / 6,000
Stock ownership guideline
09b

Total cost of the board

ComponentFY2025
Cash retainers and fees$215,000
Equity awards (grant-date value)$500,000
All other compensation$240,000
Total cost of the board$955,000

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

10

Disclosed peer group — fiscal year 2025

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 Lightwave Logic 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 Lightwave Logic.

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
1Aeva Technologies, Inc.2025Soroush Salehian Dardashti$600,600$7,180,000$0$0$8,792,350
2Lightwave Logic2025Yves LeMaitre443,9397,866,451008,614,697
3SES AI Corporation2024Qichao Hu530,0003,043,2200424,0004,099,946
4Amprius Technologies, Inc.2025Thomas Stepien319,7122,746,000003,354,715
5Frequency Electronics, Inc.2026Thomas McClelland366,8332,629,000003,259,827
6Kopin Corporation2025Michael Murray506,191600,692575,990463,3742,257,423
7AEye, Inc.2025Matthew Fisch500,000344,4700930,0001,864,345
8American Battery Technology Company2025Ryan Melsert425,000573,997600,00001,598,997
9ASP Isotopes Inc.2024Robert Ainscow310,000658,500001,148,500
10LightPath Technologies, Inc.2025Shmuel Rubin405,50085,7900692,875
11LanzaTech Global, Inc.2025Jennifer Holmgren630,000000642,559
12NVE Corporation2026Daniel Baker449,918041,02680,353585,775
Neonode Inc.not in coverage universe
Dyadic International, Inc.not in coverage universe
Optical Cable Corporationnot in coverage universe
Interlink Electronics, Inc.not in coverage universe

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
Lightwave Logicnot disclosednot disclosednot disclosedMeridian Compensation Partners, LLC and Aon plc
Aeva Technologies, Inc.not disclosednot disclosedNoSemler Brossy Consulting Group
AEye, Inc.186%RSU 50 · PSU 50NoCompensia, Inc.
American Battery Technology Companynot disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
Amprius Technologies, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosedCompensia
ASP Isotopes Inc.not disclosedRSU 100not disclosednot disclosed
Dyadic International, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
Frequency Electronics, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosedGrant Thornton
Interlink Electronics, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
Kopin Corporationnot disclosednot disclosedNoAon plc (Human Capital Solutions practice)
LanzaTech Global, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosedWillis Towers Watson
LightPath Technologies, Inc.not disclosedRSU 100Nonot disclosed
Neonode Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
NVE Corporationnot disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
Optical Cable Corporationnot disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
SES AI Corporationnot disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed

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, Yves LeMaitreDEF 14A2026-04-100001553350-26-000061Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 8,614,697. Filing ↗machine: r4 · c27 · span 284937–284946
2Section 01, James MarcelliDEF 14A2026-04-100001553350-26-000061Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 722,444. Filing ↗machine: r10 · c27 · span 308464–308471
3Section 01, Thomas ZeliborDEF 14A2026-04-100001553350-26-000061Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 656,781. Filing ↗machine: r7 · c27 · span 296465–296472
4Section 03, Yves LeMaitre RSUDEF 14A2026-04-100001553350-26-000061Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 331038–331047
5Section 03, Yves LeMaitre RSUDEF 14A2026-04-100001553350-26-000061Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 334327–334336
6Section 03, James Marcelli OPTIONDEF 14A2026-04-100001553350-26-000061Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 347693–347700
7Section 03, Thomas Zelibor RSUDEF 14A2026-04-100001553350-26-000061Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 341251–341258
8Section 08, Siraj Nour El-AhmadiDEF 14A2026-04-100001553350-26-000061Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 370,000. Filing ↗machine: span 467328–467335
9Section 08, Ronald A. BucchiDEF 14A2026-04-100001553350-26-000061Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 170,750. Filing ↗machine: span 465637–465644
10Section 08, Laila S. PartridgeDEF 14A2026-04-100001553350-26-000061Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 142,250. Filing ↗machine: span 470692–470699
11Section 08, Thomas Connelly JrDEF 14A2026-04-100001553350-26-000061Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 138,625. Filing ↗machine: span 472389–472396
12Section 08, Craig CieslaDEF 14A2026-04-100001553350-26-000061Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 133,375. Filing ↗machine: span 469014–469021
13Section 08, Yves LeMaitreDEF 14A2026-04-100001553350-26-000061Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗
14Section 06, 2024 voteForm 8-K2024-05-240001079973-24-000811Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 82.26% (votes for as printed: 25,303,745). Filing ↗
15Section 06, 2021 voteForm 8-K2021-06-010001553350-21-000489Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 91.58% (votes for as printed: 19,016,662). Filing ↗
16Section 06, 2018 voteForm 8-K2018-05-220001553350-18-000615Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 98.82% (votes for as printed: 20,611,182). Filing ↗
17Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed)ComputedcomputedΔ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.machine: formula: Δ = FY(n) − FY(n−1)
18Section 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
19Section 09b board cost (computed)ComputedcomputedCash 215,000 + equity 500,000 + all other 240,000 = 955,000, summed across the director compensation table rows.machine: formula: Σ = 955,000
20Aeva Technologies, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-290001140361-26-017859CEO total compensation as printed in Aeva Technologies, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 8,792,350. Filing ↗machine: t51 · r2 · c18 · span 192879–192888
21Lightwave Logic (subject), Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-100001553350-26-000061CEO total compensation as printed in Lightwave Logic's own proxy. As printed: 8,614,697. Filing ↗machine: r4 · c27 · span 284937–284946
22SES AI Corporation, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2025-09-090001819142-25-000059CEO total compensation as printed in SES AI Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 4,099,946. Filing ↗
23Amprius Technologies, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-290001899287-26-000026CEO total compensation as printed in Amprius Technologies, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 3,354,715. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c45 · span 309212–309221
24Frequency Electronics, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-08-280001185185-26-003746CEO total compensation as printed in Frequency Electronics, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 3,259,827. Filing ↗machine: span 198337–198346
25Kopin Corporation, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-220001493152-26-018400CEO total compensation as printed in Kopin Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 2,257,423. Filing ↗machine: span 438656–438665
26AEye, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-300001104659-26-036805CEO total compensation as printed in AEye, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 1,864,345. Filing ↗machine: r1 · c42 · span 582073–582082
27American Battery Technology Company, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2025-09-190001493152-25-014267CEO total compensation as printed in American Battery Technology Company's own proxy. As printed: 1,598,997. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c35 · span 257461–257470
28ASP Isotopes Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2025-11-250001477932-25-008604CEO total compensation as printed in ASP Isotopes Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 1,148,500. Filing ↗machine: r5 · c29 · span 266437–266446
29LightPath Technologies, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2025-10-280001654954-25-012292CEO total compensation as printed in LightPath Technologies, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 692,875. Filing ↗machine: t54 · r5 · c29 · span 316871–316878
30LanzaTech Global, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-290001539497-26-001238CEO total compensation as printed in LanzaTech Global, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 642,559. Filing ↗
31NVE Corporation, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-06-220001376474-26-000455CEO total compensation as printed in NVE Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 585,775. Filing ↗machine: r1 · c24 · span 215373–215380