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Companies Universal

Universal (UVV): executive pay, fiscal 2026

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CEO total pay$3,179,995CEO Preston Wigner · source
Say-on-pay support98.5%Latest vote · source
CEO vs. named peers27th pct.Of 12 peer CEOs
CEO pay ratio995:1To the median employee · source

CEO pay, last three years

  • $1,554,763FY2024
  • $4,433,544FY2025
  • $3,179,995FY2026

CEO total pay was $3,179,995 in fiscal 2026, down from $4,433,544 in fiscal 2025.

FY2026: salary $828,800 · bonus $0 · stock awards $1,849,532 · option awards $0

Executives and directors

Frequently asked questions

Who was the highest-paid executive at Universal in fiscal 2026?
As disclosed, Airton Hentschke (Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer) was the highest-paid executive at Universal in fiscal 2026, with total compensation of $3,796,603.
How does Universal's chief executive pay compare to its disclosed peer group?
As disclosed, Preston Wigner's total compensation ranked at the 27th percentile of Universal's disclosed peer group.
What is Universal's CEO-to-median employee pay ratio?
As disclosed, Universal's CEO-to-median employee pay ratio was 995:1.
How did shareholders vote on Universal's executive compensation?
As disclosed, 98.5% of shareholders supported Universal's executive compensation in the latest say-on-pay vote.
How much does Universal spend in total on board compensation for fiscal 2026?
As disclosed, Universal reported total board compensation of $1,445,426 for fiscal 2026.

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.

Full detail

Every table from the filing. Open any section.

Summary compensation table
Named executive officerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension / NQDCAll otherTotal
Airton Hentschke$730,200$0$2,663,536$0$158,500$226,549$17,818$3,796,603
Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Preston Wigner828,80001,849,5320215,900262,95522,8083,179,995
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Johan Kroner555,10001,453,9750111,200206,82922,7412,349,845
Former Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Catherine Claiborne424,8000414,718069,100233,48422,4351,164,537
Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary
J. Patrick O'Keefe419,2000409,253065,100103,78617,4671,014,806
Senior Vice President, Universal Ingredients, Inc.

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 officerFY2026 totalFY2025 totalFY2024 totalΔ FY2025→2026
Airton Hentschke$3,796,603$3,110,141$2,684,703↑ +686,462
Preston Wigner3,179,9954,433,5441,554,763↓ −1,253,549
Johan Kroner2,349,8452,173,0891,976,899↑ +176,756
Catherine Claiborne1,164,5371,434,2591,434,259↓ −269,722
J. Patrick O'Keefe1,014,8061,211,8611,040,260↓ −197,055

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

Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis

The goal of our executive compensation program is to attract, motivate, reward, and retain the management talent required to achieve our business objectives, at compensation levels that are fair, equitable and competitive with those of comparable companies. This goal is furthered by the Committee's policy of linking compensation to individual and corporate performance and by encouraging significant stock ownership by senior management in order to support our business strategy and align the financial interests of management with those of the shareholders.

CEO STI target (% of salary)100%
CEO LTI target (% of salary)—
Independent consultantMeridian Compensation Partners
Clawback policyTrue
Anti-hedgingTrue
Anti-pledgingTrue
Equity grants and outstanding awards

Grants of plan-based awards — fiscal year 2026

ExecutiveAwardGrant dateThresholdTargetGrantedMaximumGrant-date fair value
Patrick O Keefe—2025-05-3003,370—261,900$523,800
Patrick O KeefeRSU2025-05-30——3,370—220,364
Johan KronerRSU2025-07-11——11,025—643,970
Preston WignerRSU2025-05-30——15,230—995,890
Catherine ClaiborneRSU2025-05-30——3,415—223,307
Airton HentschkeRSU2025-05-30——32,110—2,099,673
Johan KronerRSU2025-05-30——6,670—436,151
Johan KronerOPTION2025-05-3006,670—10,005373,854
Airton HentschkeOPTION2025-05-30010,060—15,090563,863
Patrick O KeefeOPTION2025-05-3003,370—5,055188,889
Preston WignerOPTION2025-05-30015,230—22,845853,642
Catherine ClaiborneOPTION2025-05-3003,415—5,123191,411

Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type

Named executive officerTime-vested (RSU)Performance-vested (PSU)Options / SARs% performance-vested
Patrick O Keefe$220,364$0$188,8890.0%
Johan Kroner1,080,1210373,8540.0%
Preston Wigner995,8900853,6420.0%
Catherine Claiborne223,3070191,4110.0%
Airton Hentschke2,099,6730563,8630.0%

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

Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end 2026

ExecutiveAwardShares unvestedExercise priceMarket value unvested
Catherine ClaibornePSU2,475—$130,433
Catherine ClaiborneRSU2,923—154,042
J. Patrick O'KeefePSU3,250—171,275
J. Patrick O'KeefePSU3,370—177,599
Catherine ClaibornePSU3,415—179,971
J. Patrick O'KeefePSU3,515—185,241
J. Patrick O'KeefeRSU3,526—185,820
Catherine ClaibornePSU3,565—187,876
Catherine ClaiborneRSU3,573—188,297
J. Patrick O'KeefeRSU3,837—202,210
J. Patrick O'KeefeRSU3,908—205,952
Catherine ClaiborneRSU3,964—208,903
Preston WignerPSU4,550—239,785
Preston WignerPSU4,900—258,230
Preston WignerRSU5,374—283,210
Preston WignerRSU5,449—287,162
Johan KronerPSU6,450—339,915
Johan KronerPSU6,670—351,509
Johan KronerPSU6,960—366,792
Johan KronerRSU6,979—367,793
Johan KronerRSU7,618—401,469
Johan KronerRSU7,740—407,898
Airton HentschkePSU9,725—512,507
Airton HentschkePSU10,060—530,162
Airton HentschkePSU10,500—553,350
Airton HentschkeRSU11,485—605,260
Johan KronerRSU11,536—607,947
Airton HentschkeRSU11,675—615,273
Preston WignerPSU15,230—802,621
Preston WignerRSU15,937—839,880
Preston WignerRSU27,812—1,465,692
Airton HentschkeRSU33,599—1,770,667
Director compensation
DirectorCash feesStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveAll otherTotal
Thomas H. JohnsonIndependent$139,750$123,637$0$0$700$264,087
Diana F. CantorIndependent118,000123,63700—241,637
Robert C. SleddIndependent111,750123,63700—235,387
Lennart R. FreemanIndependent106,750123,637005,000235,387
Jacqueline T. WilliamsIndependent106,250123,63700—229,887
Fotini E. ManoliosIndependent67,583144,58300—212,166
Gregory A. TrojanIndependent26,875—00—26,875

Board fee structure and ownership guideline

Annual cash retainer$83,000
Annual equity retainer$133,000
Per board meeting fee—
Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov)22,000 / 18,000 / 18,000
Stock ownership guideline$400,000

Total cost of the board

ComponentFY2026
Cash retainers and fees$676,958
Equity awards (grant-date value)$762,768
All other compensation$5,700
Total cost of the board$1,445,426

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

Peer group, and who names Universal as a peer

Companies that benchmark against UVV

5 companies name UVV as a compensation peer

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

Disclosed peer group — fiscal year 2026

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

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
1Darling Ingredients, Inc.2025Randall Stuewe$1,284,231$6,681,030$0$1,328,112$9,402,554
2TreeHouse Foods, Inc.2024Steven Oakland1,102,0007,069,378008,305,103
3Flowers Foods, Inc.2025A. Ryals McMullian1,041,7305,735,8420733,5247,776,698
4John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc.2026Jeffrey Sanfilippo985,4701,687,43101,841,8635,326,942
5B&G Foods, Inc.2025Kenneth Keller1,224,2582,625,8640710,4374,589,619
6Hain Celestial Group, Inc.2025Wendy Davidson789,8083,530,682004,546,417
7J&J Snack Foods Corp.2025Daniel Fachner1,021,9232,059,9740834,3003,978,648
8Universal2026Preston Wigner828,8001,849,5320215,9003,179,995
9Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.2026Sherman Miller627,538502,523002,109,221
10Pyxus International, Inc.2026J. Pieter Sikkel864,32000600,1841,824,891
11Seneca Foods Corporation2026Paul Palmby804,58300402,2911,304,968
—Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc.——————not in coverage universe
—The Marzetti Company——————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.

Incentive design against the same peers

CompanyAnnual incentive payoutLong-term vehicle mixPSU measures include TSRCompensation consultant
Universal26%PSU 50 · RSU 50NoMeridian Compensation Partners
B&G Foods, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosedMeridian Compensation Partners
Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosedMercer
Darling Ingredients, Inc.70%PSU 60 · RSU 40Yes — Total Shareholder Return (TSR)Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC
Flowers Foods, Inc.56.3%PSU 70 · RSU 30Yes — TSR vs. Peer GroupMeridian Compensation Partners, LLC
Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc.not disclosedRSU 50 · PSU 50not disclosedWillis Towers Watson (WTW)
Hain Celestial Group, Inc.not disclosedRSU 50 · PSU 50Yes — Relative TSR versus the S&P Food & Beverage Select Industry IndexClearBridge Compensation Group, LLC
J&J Snack Foods Corp.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc.158.1%RSU 80 · PSU 20NoPearl Meyer & Partners, LLC
Pyxus International, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
Seneca Foods Corporationnot disclosedRestricted Stock 100not disclosednot disclosed
The Marzetti Companynot disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
TreeHouse Foods, Inc.not disclosedRSU 50 · PSU 50not disclosedPay Governance LLC

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.

Say-on-pay history and pay ratio
Meeting yearMeeting dateForAgainstAbstainSupportOutcome
20262026-08-0417,015,988259,56593,52398.5%Passed
20252025-08-0518,108,615394,023107,88897.87%Passed
20242024-08-0618,558,554310,78588,20398.35%Passed
20242024-08-0618,558,554310,78588,20398.35%Passed
20232023-08-0118,844,407415,08386,71197.84%Passed
20222022-08-0218,844,777387,94685,53097.98%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
20262026-08-0498.5%a
20252025-08-0597.87%b
20242024-08-0698.35%c

a. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “A: The approval of the non-binding advisory resolution approving the compensation of our named executive officers requires that the votes cast in favor of the proposal exceed the number of votes cast against the proposal.”.

b. Voting standard not stated in the filing.

c. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “With respect to the approval of the non-binding advisory resolution approving the compensation of our named executive officers, abstentions and broker non-votes will have no effect on the proposal and will not count either in favor of, or against, the non-binding proposal.”.

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.

CEO pay ratio

Ratio (CEO : median employee)995 : 1
CEO total compensation$3,179,995
Median employee compensation$3,197
Insider trades since the proxy

Every insider equity transaction reported on Form 4 after the 2026 proxy statement — acquisitions, dispositions, exercises, and withholdings — and therefore not reflected in any table in that document.

InsiderRoleTransaction dateCodeSharesPriceValueSecuritySource
Fotini E. ManoliosDirector2026-08-04A2,650$0$0CommonForm 4 ↗
Thomas H. Tullidge JrDirector2026-08-04A2,65000CommonForm 4 ↗
Jacqueline T. WilliamsDirector2026-08-04A2,65000CommonForm 4 ↗
Gregory A. TrojanDirector2026-08-04A4,58000CommonForm 4 ↗
Diana F. CantorDirector2026-08-04A2,65000CommonForm 4 ↗
Robert C. SleddDirector2026-08-04A2,65000CommonForm 4 ↗
Arthur J. Schick Jr.Director2026-08-04A2,65000CommonForm 4 ↗
Lennart R. FreemanDirector2026-08-04A2,65000CommonForm 4 ↗
Lennart R. FreemanDirector2026-08-10D1,7825088,777CommonForm 4 ↗
Preston WignerDirector2026-10-01D6,46942269,628CommonForm 4 ↗

Transaction codes per Form 4: A acquisition · S open-market sale · F tax withholding · M option exercise · G gift. Value = shares × price as reported. Dividend-equivalent and fractional-share accrual rows (derivative Class A, under $10,000 and under 2,000 shares) are aggregated per date; every row appears in full below.

Sources (52 citations)

Each figure is listed with the filing it comes from, where it appears in that filing, and the value as printed. Any figure can be independently confirmed against the source.

  • Section 01, Airton Hentschke. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-01. Section “SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE”. As printed: 3,796,603. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Preston Wigner. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-01. Section “SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE” · page 51. As printed: 3,179,995. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Johan Kroner. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-01. Section “SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE”. As printed: 2,349,845. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Catherine Claiborne. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-01. Section “SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE”. As printed: 1,164,537. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, J. Patrick O'Keefe. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-01. Section “SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE”. As printed: 1,014,806. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Patrick O Keefe . DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-01. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Patrick O Keefe RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-01. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Johan Kroner RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-01. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Preston Wigner RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-01. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Catherine Claiborne RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-01. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Airton Hentschke RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-01. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Johan Kroner RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-01. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Johan Kroner OPTION. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-01. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Airton Hentschke OPTION. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-01. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Patrick O Keefe OPTION. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-01. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Preston Wigner OPTION. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-01. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Catherine Claiborne OPTION. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-01. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 07, pay ratio. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-01. Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 995 : 1. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Thomas H. Johnson. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-01. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 264,087. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Diana F. Cantor. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-01. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 241,637. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Robert C. Sledd. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-01. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 235,387. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Lennart R. Freeman. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-01. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 235,387. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Jacqueline T. Williams. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-01. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 229,887. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Fotini E. Manolios. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-01. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 212,166. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Gregory A. Trojan. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-01. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 26,875. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Fotini E. Manolios 2026-08-04. Form 4, filed 2026-08-06. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Thomas H. Tullidge Jr 2026-08-04. Form 4, filed 2026-08-06. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Jacqueline T. Williams 2026-08-04. Form 4, filed 2026-08-06. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Gregory A. Trojan 2026-08-04. Form 4, filed 2026-08-06. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Diana F. Cantor 2026-08-04. Form 4, filed 2026-08-06. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Robert C. Sledd 2026-08-04. Form 4, filed 2026-08-06. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Arthur J. Schick Jr. 2026-08-04. Form 4, filed 2026-08-06. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Lennart R. Freeman 2026-08-04. Form 4, filed 2026-08-06. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Lennart R. Freeman 2026-08-10. Form 4, filed 2026-08-11. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 02, Preston Wigner 2026-10-01. Form 4, filed 2026-10-05. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
  • Section 06, 2026 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2026-08-05. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 98.5% (votes for as printed: 17,015,988). View filing ↗
  • Section 06, 2025 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2025-08-06. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 97.87% (votes for as printed: 18,108,615). View filing ↗
  • Section 06, 2024 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2024-08-07. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 98.35%. View filing ↗
  • Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed). Computed. Δ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.
  • 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).
  • Section 09b board cost (computed). Computed. Cash 676,958 + equity 762,768 + all other 5,700 = 1,445,426, summed across the director compensation table rows.
  • Darling Ingredients, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-19. CEO total compensation as printed in Darling Ingredients, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 9,402,554. View filing ↗
  • TreeHouse Foods, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-13. CEO total compensation as printed in TreeHouse Foods, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 8,305,103. View filing ↗
  • Flowers Foods, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-14. CEO total compensation as printed in Flowers Foods, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 7,776,698. View filing ↗
  • John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-09-14. CEO total compensation as printed in John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 5,326,942. View filing ↗
  • B&G Foods, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-03. CEO total compensation as printed in B&G Foods, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 4,589,619. View filing ↗
  • Hain Celestial Group, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2025-09-18. CEO total compensation as printed in Hain Celestial Group, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 4,546,417. View filing ↗
  • J&J Snack Foods Corp., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-01-02. CEO total compensation as printed in J&J Snack Foods Corp.'s own proxy. As printed: 3,978,648. View filing ↗
  • Universal (subject), Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-01. CEO total compensation as printed in Universal's own proxy. As printed: 3,179,995. View filing ↗
  • Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-18. CEO total compensation as printed in Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 2,109,221. View filing ↗
  • Pyxus International, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-06. CEO total compensation as printed in Pyxus International, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 1,824,891. View filing ↗
  • Seneca Foods Corporation, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-07. CEO total compensation as printed in Seneca Foods Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 1,304,968. View filing ↗
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