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Media & Telecom

Cogent Communications Holdings Executive Compensation (FY25)

CCOI · Washington, DC · Executive and director compensation, fiscal 2022 to 2025
Chief executive, fiscal 2025
◇
Dave Schaeffer
Median of the other named officers
$2,787,068
5 officers, excluding the chief executive
Latest say-on-pay support
=
May 1, 2026
Chief executive pay ratio
◇
To the median employee
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Data as of November 4, 2026Latest filing (8-K): May 4, 2026
12 filings cited on this page
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264 figures on this page: 256 cited to the filing that reported them, 8 calculated from figures it prints. See the citations
What changed from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2025
The figures that moved, and by how much. Analysis of these figures is part of the Velarion platform.
Chief executive total compensation — Dave Schaeffer: $12,680,860 → $25,372,519 (100.1% higher)
CEO pay ratio: 136:1 → 259:1 (90.4% higher)

Frequently asked questions

Answers drawn from the data on this page.
Who is Cogent Communications Holdings' chief executive and what were they paid?
Total compensation for Dave Schaeffer, Chief Executive Officer, came to $25,372,519 in fiscal 2025. Compared with the $12,680,860 reported for fiscal 2024, Schaeffer's total was 100.1% higher.
What was Cogent Communications Holdings' say-on-pay result?
For fiscal 2025, the say-on-pay proposal drew 67.2% support at the meeting held May 1, 2026.
Which companies are in Cogent Communications Holdings' peer group?
The disclosed peer group names Alarm.com, Blackbaud, Calix, CSG Systems International and Fastly, among others.
What is Cogent Communications Holdings' chief executive pay ratio?
The disclosed chief executive pay ratio for fiscal 2025 is 259:1, against median employee compensation of $98,111.

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
Dave Schaeffer
Chief Executive Officer
——◇—◇—◇◇
Thaddeus Weed
Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇———◇◇
James Bubeck
Chief Revenue Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
John Chang
Chief Legal Officer
◇—◇———◇◇
Henry Kilmer
Vice President of Network Strategy
◇—◇———◇◇
Fiscal 2023
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Dave Schaeffer
Chief Executive Officer
——◇—◇—◇◇
Thaddeus Weed
Chief Financial Officer
◇◇◇———◇— not reconciled
Greg O Connor
Former Chief Operating Officer
Departed during or after this year
◇◇◇———◇— not reconciled
Jeffrey Danielson
Former Vice President of Infrastructure
Departed during or after this year
◇◇◇———◇— not reconciled
James Bubeck
Chief Revenue Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
John Chang
Chief Legal Officer
◇◇◇———◇— not reconciled
Henry Kilmer
Vice President of Network Strategy
◇◇◇———◇— not reconciled
Fiscal 2024
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Dave Schaeffer
Chief Executive Officer
——◇—◇—◇◇
Thaddeus Weed
Chief Financial Officer
◇◇◇———◇— not reconciled
John Chang
Chief Legal Officer
◇◇◇———◇— not reconciled
James Bubeck
Chief Revenue Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Henry Kilmer
Vice President of Network Strategy
◇—◇———◇◇
Fiscal 2025
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Dave Schaeffer
Chief Executive Officer
——◇—◇—◇◇
Thaddeus Weed
Chief Financial Officer
◇◇◇◇——◇◇
John Chang
Chief Legal Officer
◇◇◇◇——◇◇
Mark Harris
Chief Revenue Officer and Vice President of Global Sales
◇—◇—◇——◇
Henry Kilmer
Vice President of Network Strategy
◇◇◇◇——◇◇
James Bubeck
Former Chief Revenue Officer and Vice President of Global Sales
Departed during or after this year
◇◇◇◇◇—◇◇
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 2025
OfficerAwardGrant dateThreshold unitsTarget unitsUnits grantedMaximum unitsExercise priceGrant date fair value
Dave SchaefferPSU◇—◇◇◇—◇
Dave SchaefferPSU◇—◇◇◇—◇
Henry KilmerPSU◇——◇◇—◇
Henry KilmerPSU◇——◇◇—◇
James BubeckPSU◇——◇◇—◇
John ChangPSU◇——◇◇—◇
John ChangPSU◇——◇◇—◇
John ChangRSU◇——◇——◇
Mark HarrisRSU◇——◇——◇
Mark HarrisRSU◇——◇——◇
Mark HarrisRSU◇——◇——◇
Mark HarrisRSU◇——◇——◇
Thaddeus WeedPSU◇——◇◇—◇
Thaddeus WeedPSU◇——◇◇—◇
Thaddeus WeedRSU◇——◇——◇
Fiscal 2023, 2024 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 2025 year end
OfficerAwardUnvested unitsMarket value of unvested unitsExercise priceExpires
Dave SchaefferPSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
Thaddeus WeedRSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
John ChangRSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
Mark HarrisRSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
Henry KilmerRSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
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.
Henry Kilmer
Vice President of Network Strategy · Severance agreement
Severance multiple◇
Severance base◇
Benefits continuation◇

Director compensation

What each non-employee director was paid.
Fiscal 2025
DirectorFees earned in cashStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Steven Brooks
◇◇————◇
Marc Montagner
Lead independent director
◇◇————◇
Eve Howard
◇◇————◇
Deneen Howell
◇◇————◇
Paul de Sa
◇◇————◇
Sheryl Kennedy
◇◇————◇
Lewis Ferguson
◇◇————◇
Dave Schaeffer served on the board in fiscal 2025 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 equity retainer◇
Compensation committee member◇
Board meeting fee◇

Disclosed peer group

The companies this board named as its compensation comparison group. The list is disclosure; the comparison is analysis.
Fiscal 2025
  • Alarm.com ALRM
  • Blackbaud BLKB
  • Calix CALX
  • CSG Systems International CSGS
  • Fastly FSLY
  • Five9 FIVN
  • Gogo GOGO
  • InterDigital IDCC
  • Iridium Communications IRDM
  • Qualys QLYS
  • Rapid7 RPD
  • RingCentral RNG
  • Squarespace SQSP
  • Teradata TDC
  • Viasat VSAT
  • Viavi Solutions VIAV
  • Workiva WK

Say-on-pay history

Shareholder support for the compensation program, by year.
YearMeetingSupportVotes forVotes againstAbstentions
2025May 1, 2026=◇◇◇
2024May 7, 2025=◇◇◇
2023May 8, 2024=◇◇◇
2022May 3, 2023=◇◇◇
2021May 4, 2022=◇◇◇
2020April 28, 2021=◇◇◇
2019May 6, 2020=◇◇◇
2018May 1, 2019=◇◇◇

Chief executive pay ratio

As calculated and reported by the company.
Ratio
◇
Median employee compensation
◇
Chief executive total compensation
◇

Ask our research desk — $99, 24h, every figure cited to its filing.

Sample answer — “What is the CEO’s total compensation?”
- Dave Schaeffer (Chief Executive Officer), FY2025 total compensation $25,372,519 (base salary $0) [exec_comp, SEC accession 0001104659-26-032744, filed 2026-03-20]

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What this page does not include

Everything above is a fact Cogent Communications Holdings disclosed, and it is free. Everything below is our analysis of those facts, and it is not.
Peer benchmarking
Where Cogent Communications Holdings 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.
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Committee composition, independence, director pay positioning, and the governance provisions read together rather than listed.
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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.
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Say-on-pay responsiveness
Cogent Communications Holdings recorded a low support level. The responsiveness analysis covers what the company said it would do, what it did, and how that compares with the companies that recovered their vote.
Responsiveness analysis
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.
264 figures on this page: 256 cited to the filing that reported them, 8 calculated from figures it prints.
256 cited to the filing
8 calculated from the filing

Documents cited

  1. 0001104659-26-054817
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  2. 0001104659-26-032744
    2025 Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year End Table · 2025 Summary Compensation Table · CEO Pay Ratio · DIRECTOR COMPENSATION · and 1 more section
  3. 0001104659-25-046003
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  4. 0001104659-25-028214
  5. 0001104659-24-058652
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  6. 0001104659-24-038424
  7. 0001104659-23-055930
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  9. 0001104659-22-055893
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  10. 0001104659-21-057430
  11. 0001104659-20-057358
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  12. 0001104659-19-026078
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
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Velarion, “Cogent Communications Holdings executive compensation, FY2022–FY2025.” https://intel.velarion.ai/comp/CCOI (accessed 2026).
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Both reports for $900.
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12 filings cited on this page
Method: intel.velarion.ai/methodology
A report that fails to generate is refunded in full
Published by Velarion Company Intelligence
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Media & Telecom rankings

Chief executive pay — Media & TelecomCEO pay ratio — Media & TelecomSay-on-pay support — Media & Telecom

Peers Cogent Communications Holdings discloses

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

Alarm.comBlackbaudCalixCSG Systems InternationalFastlyFive9GogoInterDigitalIridium CommunicationsQualysRapid7RingCentralSquarespaceTeradataViasatViavi SolutionsWorkiva

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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