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By: JBizNews Desk 🌎
Similarweb shareholders will vote November 16 on a compensation package for new Chief Executive Officer Michael Akkerman that includes about $10 million in target equity awards. The proposed share package reaches $14.5 million at full overachievement, tying the largest part of his equity compensation to company performance and share-price milestones.
The shareholder decision
The proposal goes before a special general meeting of the Israeli software company. Its proxy statement puts the target equity award at approximately 1.25% of the company’s capitalization on a fully diluted basis when Akkerman’s employment agreement was signed.
The package includes a $550,000 annual base salary and a target annual bonus equal to that salary. A $500,000 one-time signing bonus is earned on the first anniversary of his start date and can be advanced. A proportional repayment applies if he resigns without good reason or is fired for cause within the first year.
How the equity is structured
About 70% of the target equity award is performance-based. The proposed grants comprise:
- Approximately $3 million in restricted stock units, vesting over three years with continued employment.
- Approximately $5 million in performance stock units tied to revenue and EBITDA targets for 2027 through 2029.
- Approximately $2 million in performance stock units tied to share-price milestones measured over four years.
The share-price component uses a 60-trading-day average closing price, with milestones at $15, $20, $25 and $30. The operating-performance component pays between 50% and 150% of target based on results.
How the board assessed the package
A November 3 proxy supplement explains that compensation adviser Aon benchmarked Akkerman’s package against 11 software companies with non-founder chief executives. His cash compensation sits around the 25th to 50th percentile of that group, while the target sign-on equity grant sits around the 25th percentile, according to the company.
The board unanimously recommends approval. Shareholders are deciding the pay terms; the board’s appointment of Akkerman is separate from that vote. Approval would set the compensation structure for the new chief executive, including the performance hurdles governing most of the proposed equity.
JBizNews Desk | Givatayim, Israel
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