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 NDLS 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 NDLS 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph Christina | $407,116 | $0 | $388,700 | $0 | $82,569 | $0 | $11,335 | $889,720 |
| President and Chief Executive Officer | ||||||||
| Drew Madsen | 547,692 | 0 | 296,933 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24,360 | 868,985 |
| Former CEO | ||||||||
| Mike Hynes | 382,611 | 0 | 99,328 | 0 | 51,002 | 0 | 16,623 | 549,564 |
| Chief Financial Officer | ||||||||
| Corey Kline | 297,541 | 0 | 37,248 | 0 | 26,445 | 0 | 15,846 | 377,080 |
| Executive Vice President, IT | ||||||||
| Kathy Lockhart | 293,339 | 0 | 37,248 | 0 | 26,429 | 0 | 19,194 | 376,210 |
| Chief Accounting Officer | ||||||||
| Brad West | 195,419 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24,822 | 0 | 107,830 | 328,071 |
| Former Executive Vice President, Operations | ||||||||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph Christina | $889,720 | — | — | — |
| Drew Madsen | 868,985 | 2,439,636 | 474,000 | −1,570,651 |
| Mike Hynes | 549,564 | 666,766 | 390,254 | −117,202 |
| Corey Kline | 377,080 | 402,515 | 411,612 | −25,435 |
| Kathy Lockhart | 376,210 | 394,591 | 408,363 | −18,381 |
| Brad West | 328,071 | 677,073 | 780,729 | −349,002 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph Christina | RSU | 2025-03-10 | — | — | 20,000 | — | $388,700 |
| Joseph Christina | RSU | 2025-08-31 | — | — | 31,250 | — | 177,500 |
| Mike Hynes | RSU | 2025-05-15 | — | — | 8,000 | — | 55,168 |
| Mike Hynes | PSU | 2025-05-15 | 6,000 | 12,000 | — | 18,000 | 44,160 |
| Corey Kline | RSU | 2025-05-15 | — | — | 3,000 | — | 20,688 |
| Corey Kline | PSU | 2025-05-15 | 2,250 | 4,500 | — | 6,750 | 16,560 |
| Kathy Lockhart | RSU | 2025-05-15 | — | — | 3,000 | — | 20,688 |
| Kathy Lockhart | PSU | 2025-05-15 | 2,250 | 4,500 | — | 6,750 | 16,560 |
| Drew Madsen | PSU | 2025-05-15 | 20,844 | 41,688 | — | 62,531 | 153,410 |
| Drew Madsen | RSU | 2025-05-15 | — | — | 20,813 | — | 143,523 |
| Named executive officer | Time-vested (RSU) | Performance-vested (PSU) | Options / SARs | % performance-vested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph Christina | $566,200 | $0 | $0 | 0.0% |
| Mike Hynes | 55,168 | 44,160 | 0 | 44.5% |
| Corey Kline | 20,688 | 16,560 | 0 | 44.5% |
| Kathy Lockhart | 20,688 | 16,560 | 0 | 44.5% |
| Drew Madsen | 143,523 | 153,410 | 0 | 51.7% |
% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph Christina | RSU | 31,250 | — | $173,100 |
| Joseph Christina | RSU | 20,000 | — | 110,784 |
| Drew Madsen | RSU | 16,600 | — | 91,952 |
| Mike Hynes | RSU | 9,009 | — | 49,903 |
| Mike Hynes | RSU | 8,000 | — | 44,314 |
| Mike Hynes | RSU | 4,505 | — | 24,951 |
| Corey Kline | RSU | 4,500 | — | 24,926 |
| Kathy Lockhart | RSU | 4,500 | — | 24,926 |
| Mike Hynes | RSU | 4,464 | — | 24,728 |
| Corey Kline | RSU | 3,000 | — | 16,618 |
| Kathy Lockhart | RSU | 3,000 | — | 16,618 |
| Corey Kline | RSU | 2,815 | — | 15,594 |
| Kathy Lockhart | RSU | 2,815 | — | 15,594 |
| Corey Kline | RSU | 1,796 | — | 9,913 |
| Kathy Lockhart | RSU | 1,796 | — | 9,913 |
| Corey Kline | RSU | 1,408 | — | 7,797 |
| Kathy Lockhart | RSU | 1,408 | — | 7,797 |
| Corey Kline | RSU | 614 | — | 3,400 |
| Kathy Lockhart | RSU | 614 | — | 3,400 |
| Corey Kline | RSU | 253 | — | 1,403 |
| Kathy Lockhart | RSU | 253 | — | 1,403 |
Our executive compensation program is designed around a “pay-for-performance” philosophy, providing competitive target total direct compensation opportunities based on market data. The majority of each NEO’s compensation is variable and tied to the achievement of pre-established financial and strategic goals and stock performance to align management interests with stockholders.
| CEO STI target (% of salary) | — |
|---|---|
| CEO LTI target (% of salary) | — |
| Independent consultant | FW Cook |
| Clawback policy | true |
| Anti-hedging | true |
| Anti-pledging | true |
| Meeting year | Meeting date | For | Against | Abstain | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-05-13 | 3,126,675 | 17,294 | 2,015 | 99.45% | Passed |
| 2025 | 2025-05-14 | 25,354,728 | 502,704 | 152,120 | 98.06% | Passed |
| 2024 | 2024-05-15 | 31,385,276 | 832,833 | 151,087 | 97.42% | Passed |
| 2023 | 2023-05-16 | 33,379,727 | 4,166,228 | 48,883 | 88.9% | Passed |
| 2022 | 2022-05-10 | 35,409,325 | 3,692,910 | 118,396 | 90.56% | Passed |
| 2021 | 2021-04-27 | 31,802,599 | 664,274 | 287,503 | 97.95% | 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 | 2026-05-13 | 99.45%a |
| 2025 | 2025-05-14 | 98.06%b |
| 2024 | 2024-05-15 | 97.42%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.
| Director | Cash fees | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff JonesIndependent · Board Chair · Audit (Chair) · Compensation | $135,000 | $46,548 | — | — | — | $181,548 |
| Robert HartnettIndependent · Audit · Compensation (Chair) · Not standing for re-election | 85,000 | 31,032 | — | — | — | 116,032 |
| Mary EganIndependent · Compensation · Nominating and Corporate Governance (Chair) · Not standing for re-election | 80,000 | 31,032 | — | — | — | 111,032 |
| Shawn TaylorIndependent · Audit · Nominating and Corporate Governance | 75,000 | 31,032 | — | — | — | 106,032 |
| Thomas LynchIndependent · Compensation · Nominating and Corporate Governance | 70,000 | 31,032 | — | — | — | 101,032 |
| Elisa SchreiberIndependent · Compensation · Nominating and Corporate Governance | 70,000 | 31,032 | — | — | — | 101,032 |
| Britain PeakesIndependent · Audit | 62,500 | 31,032 | — | — | — | 93,532 |
| Drew MadsenIndependent | 16,620 | 0 | — | — | — | 16,620 |
| Joseph ChristinaEmployee director · Newly elected | — | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| Annual cash retainer | $50,000 |
|---|---|
| Annual equity retainer | $90,000 |
| Per board meeting fee | — |
| Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov) | 10,000 / 10,000 / 10,000 |
| Stock ownership guideline | $5 |
| Component | FY2025 |
|---|---|
| Cash retainers and fees | $594,120 |
| Equity awards (grant-date value) | $232,740 |
| All other compensation | $0 |
| Total cost of the board | $826,860 |
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 Noodles & Co 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 Noodles & Co.
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 | El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. | 2025 | Elizabeth Williams | $750,950 | $1,434,000 | $717,000 | $581,162 | $3,539,320 |
| 2 | Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. | 2026 | Sharon John | 807,869 | 1,580,077 | 0 | 968,536 | 3,396,235 |
| 3 | Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. | 2025 | David Pace | 510,577 | 1,567,000 | 0 | 1,169,494 | 3,252,947 |
| 4 | Noodles & Co | 2025 | Joseph Christina | 407,116 | 388,700 | 0 | 82,569 | 889,720 |
| — | Big 5 Sporting Goods | — | — | — | — | — | — | not in coverage universe |
| — | Destination XL Group, Inc. | — | — | — | — | — | — | not in coverage universe |
| — | The ONE Group Hospitality, Inc. | — | — | — | — | — | — | not in coverage universe |
| — | The Container Store Group, Inc. | — | — | — | — | — | — | not in coverage universe |
| — | First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. | — | — | — | — | — | — | not in coverage universe |
| — | Citi Trends, 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.
| Company | Annual incentive payout | Long-term vehicle mix | PSU measures include TSR | Compensation consultant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noodles & Co | not disclosed | PSU 60 · RSU 40 | not disclosed | FW Cook |
| Big 5 Sporting Goods | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC |
| Citi Trends, Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Destination XL Group, Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. | 77.5% | PSU 33 · RSU 33 · Options 33 | No | Semler Brossy |
| First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. | 103.96% | RSU 50 · PSU 25 · PPSU 25 | Yes — Relative TSR | Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC |
| The Container Store Group, Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| The ONE Group Hospitality, Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not 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.
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, Joseph Christina | DEF 14A | 2026-04-01 | 0001275158-26-000030 | Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 889,720. Filing ↗machine: span 363953–363960 |
| 2 | Section 01, Drew Madsen | DEF 14A | 2026-04-01 | 0001275158-26-000030 | Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 868,985. Filing ↗machine: r13 · c48 · span 393779–393786 |
| 3 | Section 01, Mike Hynes | DEF 14A | 2026-04-01 | 0001275158-26-000030 | Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 549,564. Filing ↗machine: r4 · c48 · span 367932–367939 |
| 4 | Section 01, Corey Kline | DEF 14A | 2026-04-01 | 0001275158-26-000030 | Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 377,080. Filing ↗machine: r7 · c48 · span 376506–376513 |
| 5 | Section 01, Kathy Lockhart | DEF 14A | 2026-04-01 | 0001275158-26-000030 | Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 376,210. Filing ↗machine: r10 · c48 · span 384513–384520 |
| 6 | Section 01, Brad West | DEF 14A | 2026-04-01 | 0001275158-26-000030 | Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 328,071. Filing ↗machine: r16 · c48 · span 402754–402761 |
| 7 | Section 03, Joseph Christina RSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-01 | 0001275158-26-000030 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 457589–457596 |
| 8 | Section 03, Joseph Christina RSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-01 | 0001275158-26-000030 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 460439–460446 |
| 9 | Section 03, Mike Hynes RSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-01 | 0001275158-26-000030 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 466298–466304 |
| 10 | Section 03, Mike Hynes PSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-01 | 0001275158-26-000030 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 469452–469458 |
| 11 | Section 03, Corey Kline RSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-01 | 0001275158-26-000030 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 475523–475529 |
| 12 | Section 03, Corey Kline PSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-01 | 0001275158-26-000030 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 478675–478681 |
| 13 | Section 03, Kathy Lockhart RSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-01 | 0001275158-26-000030 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 483542–483548 |
| 14 | Section 03, Kathy Lockhart PSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-01 | 0001275158-26-000030 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 486029–486035 |
| 15 | Section 03, Drew Madsen PSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-01 | 0001275158-26-000030 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 495555–495562 |
| 16 | Section 03, Drew Madsen RSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-01 | 0001275158-26-000030 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 492399–492406 |
| 17 | Section 08, Jeff Jones | DEF 14A | 2026-04-01 | 0001275158-26-000030 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 181,548. Filing ↗ |
| 18 | Section 08, Robert Hartnett | DEF 14A | 2026-04-01 | 0001275158-26-000030 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 116,032. Filing ↗ |
| 19 | Section 08, Mary Egan | DEF 14A | 2026-04-01 | 0001275158-26-000030 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 111,032. Filing ↗ |
| 20 | Section 08, Shawn Taylor | DEF 14A | 2026-04-01 | 0001275158-26-000030 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 106,032. Filing ↗ |
| 21 | Section 08, Thomas Lynch | DEF 14A | 2026-04-01 | 0001275158-26-000030 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 101,032. Filing ↗ |
| 22 | Section 08, Elisa Schreiber | DEF 14A | 2026-04-01 | 0001275158-26-000030 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 101,032. Filing ↗ |
| 23 | Section 08, Britain Peakes | DEF 14A | 2026-04-01 | 0001275158-26-000030 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 93,532. Filing ↗ |
| 24 | Section 08, Drew Madsen | DEF 14A | 2026-04-01 | 0001275158-26-000030 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 16,620. Filing ↗ |
| 25 | Section 08, Joseph Christina | DEF 14A | 2026-04-01 | 0001275158-26-000030 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗ |
| 26 | Section 06, 2026 vote | Form 8-K | 2026-05-14 | 0001275158-26-000039 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 99.45% (votes for as printed: 3,126,675). Filing ↗ |
| 27 | Section 06, 2025 vote | Form 8-K | 2025-05-15 | 0001275158-25-000047 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 98.06% (votes for as printed: 25,354,728). Filing ↗ |
| 28 | Section 06, 2024 vote | Form 8-K | 2024-05-16 | 0001275158-24-000043 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 97.42% (votes for as printed: 31,385,276). Filing ↗ |
| 29 | 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) |
| 30 | 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 |
| 31 | Section 09b board cost (computed) | Computed | — | computed | Cash 594,120 + equity 232,740 + all other 0 = 826,860, summed across the director compensation table rows.machine: formula: Σ = 826,860 |
| 32 | El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-30 | 0001606366-26-000021 | CEO total compensation as printed in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 3,539,320. Filing ↗machine: t144 · r5 · c23 · span 798734–798743 |
| 33 | Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-30 | 0001437749-26-013976 | CEO total compensation as printed in Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 3,396,235. Filing ↗ |
| 34 | Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-03-26 | 0001104659-26-035198 | CEO total compensation as printed in Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 3,252,947. Filing ↗machine: r1 · c46 · span 824567–824576 |
| 35 | Noodles & Co (subject), Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-01 | 0001275158-26-000030 | CEO total compensation as printed in Noodles & Co's own proxy. As printed: 889,720. Filing ↗machine: span 363953–363960 |
| 36 | Section 10a, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001104659-26-035198 | Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Noodles & Co. Filing ↗ |
| 37 | Section 10a, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001437749-26-013976 | Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Noodles & Co. Filing ↗ |