Our Pay
reliance on equity compensation adequately facilitates the achievement of corporate operational goals and aligns each NEO with shareholder interest. Accordingly, none of our NEOs was paid a cash incentive bonus for fiscal 2025, except Mr. Bowman, who was paid a cash bonus in connection with the end of his tenure as our CFO.
Equity Awards. Equity compensation awards remain an important part of our executive compensation program. We have granted RSUs and stock options from time to time to our employees, including our executive officers, under our stock plans. Our Compensation Committee believes that RSUs are an important component of a competitive compensation program. RSUs supplement our cash compensation and allow a holder whose cash needs may, at a given time exceed our cash compensation, to monetize their stock holdings to meet those needs while still aligning their interests with those of our shareholders. Our Compensation Committee believes that stock options are inherently performance-based because the holder benefits only if our stock price increases following the grant date, aligning the option holder’s interest closely with those of our shareholders. We believe that the combination of stock options and RSUs in our equity compensation program have effectively emphasized an ownership culture and rewarded our executive officers for growing our business. We also believe that our practice of making annual equity grants mitigates, to some degree, the impact of stock price volatility, which we have recently experienced.
In fiscal 2023, in light of a competitive environment for executive talent and compensation, we also granted our executive officers, except for our CEO, a one-time special equity retention grant of RSUs and stock options. These grants will vest on April 1, 2026 (in the case of Ms. Zuppas and Mr. Faddis) or on October 1, 2027 (in case of Mr. Schwenger), subject to continued service by such executive officers. We believe that the composition of these grants and the vesting schedule protect leadership continuity and incentivize long-term value creation.
Under our executive compensation program, applicable to all executive officers except for our CEO, we grant an annual “stock bonus,” or short-term equity incentive in the form of an annual RSU grant, and annual long-term equity incentives in the form of stock options.
Annual Stock Bonus Grants. The structure and purpose of our stock bonus program is described in the Executive Summary above. In fiscal 2025, based on the methodology described in the Executive Summary above, each of Ms. Zuppas and Messrs. Faddis and Schwenger received an RSU grant of 5,295, 4,480, and 7,636 RSUs, respectively, that vest quarterly over a one-year period.
Annual Stock Option Grants. The structure and purpose of our stock option program is described in the Executive Summary above. In fiscal 2025, based on the methodology described in the Executive Summary above, each of Ms. Zuppas and Messrs. Faddis and Schwenger received a stock option grant to purchase 21,180, 17,920, and 30,544 shares of our common stock, respectively. These stock option grants vest annually over a four-year period and have an exercise price equal to $214.73, the closing market price on the date of grant.
Fiscal 2023 Special Equity Retention Grants. In fiscal 2023, in addition to the annual grants described above, each of Ms. Zuppas and Messrs. Faddis and Schwenger received a one-time RSU grant of 7,500, 7,500, and 15,000 shares of our common stock, respectively, as well as a one-time stock option grant to purchase 15,000, 15,000, and 30,000 shares of our common stock, respectively. One hundred percent of the special equity retention grants awarded to Ms. Zuppas and Mr. Faddis will vest on April 1, 2026, and one hundred percent of the special equity retention grants awarded to Mr. Schwenger will vest on October 1, 2027, all subject to continued service. The stock option grants that are a part of the fiscal 2023 special equity retention program have an exercise price equal to $207.48, the closing market price on the date of grant.
CFO Equity Compensation. Mr. Van Wagener joined us as our Executive Vice President, Finance with the intention that he would succeed Mr. Cabral to become our CFO during fiscal 2025. In connection with his appointment, he received the following equity grants, each with a vesting start date of August 1, 2024: (i) an RSU grant of 2,193 shares, 62.5% of which vested on January 1, 2025 and the remaining 37.5% of