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AeroVironment Executive Compensation (FY26)

AVAV · Arlington, VA · Executive and director compensation, fiscal 2022 to 2026

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Data as of September 9, 2026Latest filing (DEF 14A): August 14, 2026
12 filings cited on this page
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Published by Velarion Company Intelligence
AeroVironment brief$1,500Get the executive brief
311 figures on this page: 302 cited to the filing that reported them, 9 calculated from figures it prints. See the citations
Chief executive, fiscal 2026
◇
Wahid Nawabi
Median of the other named officers
$1,571,753
5 officers, excluding the chief executive
Latest say-on-pay support
=
October 1, 2025
Chief executive pay ratio
◇
To the median employee
What changed from fiscal 2025 to fiscal 2026
The figures that moved, and by how much. Analysis of these figures is part of the Velarion platform.
Chief executive total compensation — Wahid Nawabi: $7,405,129 → $15,253,775 (106.0% higher)
Say-on-pay support: 98.6% → 96.4% (2.2 points lower)

Frequently asked questions

Answers drawn from the data on this page.
Who is AeroVironment's chief executive and what were they paid?
Total compensation for Wahid Nawabi, President and Chief Executive Officer, came to $15,253,775 in fiscal 2026. Nawabi's total was 106.0% higher than the $7,405,129 reported for fiscal 2025.
What was AeroVironment's say-on-pay result?
Shareholders supported the say-on-pay proposal with 96.4% of votes cast including abstentions in favor at the meeting held October 1, 2025 for fiscal 2025.
Which companies are in AeroVironment's peer group?
The disclosed peer group names Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc, Axon Enterprise, Inc., Crane Company, Curtiss-Wright Corporation and HEICO Corporation, among others.
What is AeroVironment's chief executive pay ratio?
For fiscal 2026, the company reported a chief executive pay ratio of 113.4:1, against median employee compensation of $134,502.

Executive compensation

Every element reported for each named executive officer, by fiscal year.
Fiscal 2022
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Wahid Nawabi
President and Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Kevin McDonnell
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Melissa Brown
Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer & Secretary
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Alison Roelke
Former Vice President and Chief People Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Fiscal 2023
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Wahid Nawabi
President and Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Kevin McDonnell
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Melissa Brown
Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Alison Roelke
Former Vice President and Chief People Officer
Departed during or after this year
◇—————◇◇
Fiscal 2024
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Wahid Nawabi
President and Chief Executive Officer
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Kevin McDonnell
Former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Melissa Brown
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer & Secretary
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Trace Stevenson
President, Autonomous Systems
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Fiscal 2025
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Wahid Nawabi
President and Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Kevin McDonnell
Former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Melissa Brown
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer & Secretary
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Brett Hush
Executive Vice President Loitering Munitions
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Trace Stevenson
President, Autonomous Systems
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Fiscal 2026
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Wahid Nawabi
President and Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Kevin McDonnell
Former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Departed during or after this year
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Trace Stevenson
President, Autonomous Systems
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Melissa Brown
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer & Secretary
◇—◇—◇—◇— not reconciled
Bradley Truesdell
Former Chief Operating Officer
Departed during or after this year
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Mary Clum
President Space, Cyber & Directed Energy
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero. A negative change in pension value is shown but, as the company reports it, not included in the total.

Equity awards granted

Individual awards as disclosed: type, date, unit counts at each level, and grant date value.
Fiscal 2026
OfficerAwardGrant dateThreshold unitsTarget unitsUnits grantedMaximum unitsExercise priceGrant date fair value
Bradley TruesdellRSU◇——◇——◇
Bradley TruesdellPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Bradley TruesdellRSU◇——◇——◇
Kevin McDonnellPSU◇——— withheld——◇
Kevin McDonnellPSU◇◇◇◇◇—◇
Mary ClumPSU◇——◇——◇
Mary ClumPSU◇◇◇◇◇—◇
Melissa BrownPSU◇◇◇◇◇—◇
Melissa BrownPSU◇——— withheld——◇
Trace StevensonPSU◇——— withheld——◇
Trace StevensonPSU◇◇◇◇◇—◇
Wahid NawabiPSU◇◇◇◇◇—◇
Wahid NawabiPSU◇——— withheld——◇
Fiscal 2023, 2024, 2025 are included in the PDF.
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero. Threshold, target and maximum apply only to performance awards and are never shown for time-based or option awards.

Outstanding awards

Awards still held at fiscal year end.
As disclosed at fiscal 2026 year end
OfficerAwardUnvested unitsMarket value of unvested unitsExercise priceExpires
Mary ClumRSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
Melissa BrownRSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
Wahid NawabiRSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
Trace StevensonRSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
Kevin McDonnellPSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero.

Severance and change in control

The terms as written in the agreements.
Melissa Brown
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer & Secretary · Terms as described in the company’s compensation discussion · citing a 2025 filing
Severance multiple◇
Severance cash amount◇
Trace Stevenson
President, Autonomous Systems · Terms as described in the company’s compensation discussion · citing a 2025 filing
Severance cash amount◇
Wahid Nawabi
President and Chief Executive Officer · Terms as described in the company’s compensation discussion · citing a 2025 filing
Severance cash amount◇

Director compensation

What each non-employee director was paid.
Fiscal 2026
DirectorFees earned in cashStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Edward R. Muller
Lead independent director
◇◇———◇◇
Joseph L. Votel
◇◇———◇◇
Cindy K. Lewis
◇◇———◇◇
Philip Davidson
◇◇———◇◇
Stephen F. Page
◇◇———◇◇
Mary Beth Long
◇◇———◇◇
Charles Thomas Burbage
◇◇———◇◇
Henry Albers, Wahid Nawabi and David Wodlinger served on the board in fiscal 2026 and received no compensation for board service. Executive directors are typically paid through their executive roles, shown above.
Earlier years are included in the PDF.
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero.

Director fee schedule

The standing retainers and premiums the board pays, as published.
Board cash retainer◇
Board equity retainer◇
Total board retainer◇
Lead independent director premium◇
Audit committee chair◇
Audit committee member◇
Compensation committee chair◇
Compensation committee member◇
Nominating and governance chair◇
Nominating and governance member◇
Equity is delivered as Restricted Stock.
Stock ownership guideline: 5x annual cash retainer for board membership (exclusive of committee/chair fees)

Disclosed peer group

The companies this board named as its compensation comparison group. The list is disclosure; the comparison is analysis.
Fiscal 2026
  • Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc AIT
  • Axon Enterprise, Inc. AXON
  • Crane Company CR
  • Curtiss-Wright Corporation CW
  • HEICO Corporation HEI
  • Hexcel Corporation HXL
  • InterDigital, Inc. IDCC
  • Itron, Inc ITRI
  • Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. KTOS
  • Leonardo DRS, Inc. DRS
  • OSI Systems, Inc. OSIS
  • QinetiQ Group plc QQ.L
  • Regal Rexnord Corporation RRX
  • Teledyne Technologies Incorporated TDY
  • Trimble, Inc. TRMB

Say-on-pay history

Shareholder support for the compensation program, by year.
YearMeetingSupportVotes forVotes againstAbstentions
2025October 1, 2025=◇◇◇
2024September 27, 2024=◇◇◇
2023September 29, 2023=◇◇◇
2022September 23, 2022=◇◇◇
2021September 24, 2021=◇◇◇
2020September 25, 2020=◇◇◇
2019September 27, 2019=◇◇◇
2018September 28, 2018=◇◇◇
2017September 28, 2017=◇◇◇

Chief executive pay ratio

As calculated and reported by the company.
Ratio
◇
Median employee compensation
◇
Chief executive total compensation
◇
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What this page does not include

Everything above is a fact AeroVironment disclosed, and it is free. Everything below is our analysis of those facts, and it is not.
Peer benchmarking
Where AeroVironment sits against its disclosed peers — percentile position by role and by pay element, and the ranking behind it. The disclosed peer group is free; comparisons across it are part of the Velarion platform.
Executive Compensation Report — $1,500
Written compensation analysis
A read of the pay program as designed and as paid: incentive structure, goal rigor, the alignment between the committee's stated philosophy and what the numbers show.
Executive Compensation Report — $1,500
Board and governance analysis
Committee composition, independence, director pay positioning, and the governance provisions read together rather than listed.
Board Governance Report — $1,200
Realizable pay
What the awards above are actually worth today against what they were valued at on grant, and what the gap says about the pay-for-performance link.
Velarion Intelligence
Adviser switching and vote outcomes
Two datasets covering compensation-adviser changes and what followed a contested vote. Both are part of the Velarion platform.
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Citations

Every figure on this page is cited to the document that reported it. Select any figure to see its citation.
311 figures on this page: 302 cited to the filing that reported them, 9 calculated from figures it prints.
302 cited to the filing
9 calculated from the filing

Documents cited

  1. 0001104659-26-096689
    DIRECTOR COMPENSATION · EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION TABLES · Grants of Plan-Based Awards
  2. 0001104659-25-095441
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  3. 0001104659-25-077059
    Compensation Discussion and Analysis · Summary Compensation Table
  4. 0001104659-24-105632
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  5. 0001104659-23-107090
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  6. 0001104659-23-092796
    Summary Compensation Table
  7. 0001104659-22-103826
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  8. 0001104659-21-121218
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  9. 0001104659-20-110469
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  10. 0001410578-19-001529
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  11. 0001104659-18-060489
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  12. 0001104659-17-060783
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
Cite this data
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Velarion, “AeroVironment executive compensation, FY2022–FY2026.” https://intel.velarion.ai/comp/AVAV (accessed 2026).
Short form: data: Velarion

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12 filings cited on this page
Method: intel.velarion.ai/methodology
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Peers AeroVironment discloses

The companies named in AVAV's own disclosed peer group.

Applied Industrial Technologies, IncAxon Enterprise, Inc.Crane CompanyCurtiss-Wright CorporationHEICO CorporationHexcel CorporationInterDigital, Inc.Itron, IncKratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.Leonardo DRS, Inc.OSI Systems, Inc.Regal Rexnord CorporationTeledyne Technologies IncorporatedTrimble, Inc.

Terms on this page

Say-on-Pay VoteCEO Pay RatioMedian Employee CompensationAll companies

Free to read and cite. Redistribution or bulk use of the dataset requires a data license. Talk to us about the data license.

Cite this data
APA
Velarion Company Intelligence. (2026). Velarion database: executive and board compensation data (Version 2026Q3) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22283854
BibTeX
@misc{velarionData2026,
  author = {{Velarion Company Intelligence}},
  title = {Velarion database: executive and board compensation data},
  year = {2026},
  version = {2026Q3},
  doi = {10.5281/zenodo.22283854},
  publisher = {Zenodo},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22283854}
}
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