Chefs' Warehouse Executive Compensation (FY25)
CHEF · Executive and director compensation, fiscal 2025 only
The Chefs' Warehouse brief, $1,500
Positioning against its disclosed peers, the governance read, incentive design, and the CD&A alignment analysis; the full peer table; a committee-ready PDF.
From $1,200 for the board report; $2,400 for both.
Data as of September 20, 2026Latest filing (8-K): May 11, 2026
11 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
$1,500Get the executive brief
216 figures on this page: 206 cited to the filing that reported them, 10 calculated from figures it prints. See the citations
Frequently asked questions
Answers drawn from the data on this page.
Who is Chefs' Warehouse's chief executive and what were they paid?
Christopher Pappas was paid $21,961,898 in total compensation as Chief Executive Officer for fiscal 2025.
What was Chefs' Warehouse's say-on-pay result?
For fiscal 2025, shareholders backed the say-on-pay proposal with 51.0% of votes cast for or against in favor at the meeting held May 8, 2026.
Which companies are in Chefs' Warehouse's peer group?
The disclosed peer group names Performance Food Group Company, Sysco Corporation, United Natural Foods, Inc. and US Foods Holding Corp.
Executive compensation
Every element reported for each named executive officer, by fiscal year.
Fiscal 2025
| Officer | Salary | Bonus | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Pension and deferred earnings | All other compensation | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Christopher Pappas Chief Executive Officer | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ | ◇ |
John Pappas Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ | ◇ |
James Leddy Chief Financial Officer | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ | ◇ |
Alexandros Aldous General Counsel | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ | ◇ |
Christina Polychroni Chief Human Resources Officer | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ | ◇ |
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
| Officer | Award | Grant date | Threshold units | Target units | Units granted | Maximum units | Exercise price | Grant date fair value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexandros Aldous | RSU | ◇ | — | — | ◇ | — | — | ◇ |
| Alexandros Aldous | PSU | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ |
| Alexandros Aldous | RSU | ◇ | — | — | ◇ | — | — | ◇ |
| Alexandros Aldous | PSU | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ |
| Christina Polychroni | PSU | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ |
| Christina Polychroni | PSU | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ |
| Christina Polychroni | RSU | ◇ | — | — | ◇ | — | — | ◇ |
| Christina Polychroni | RSU | ◇ | — | — | ◇ | — | — | ◇ |
| Christopher Pappas | RSU | ◇ | — | — | ◇ | — | — | ◇ |
| Christopher Pappas | RSU | ◇ | — | — | ◇ | — | — | ◇ |
| Christopher Pappas | PSU | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ |
| Christopher Pappas | PSU | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ |
| James Leddy | PSU | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ |
| James Leddy | RSU | ◇ | — | — | ◇ | — | — | ◇ |
| James Leddy | RSU | ◇ | — | — | ◇ | — | — | ◇ |
| James Leddy | PSU | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ |
| John Pappas | RSU | ◇ | — | — | ◇ | — | — | ◇ |
| John Pappas | PSU | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ |
| John Pappas | PSU | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ | — | ◇ |
| John Pappas | RSU | ◇ | — | — | ◇ | — | — | ◇ |
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
| Officer | Award | Unvested units | Market value of unvested units | Exercise price | Expires |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christina Polychroni | RSU | ◇ | ◇ | — | — |
| RSU | ◇ | ◇ | — | — | |
| PSU | ◇ | ◇ | — | — | |
| RSU | ◇ | ◇ | — | — | |
| PSU | ◇ | ◇ | — | — | |
| James Leddy | RSU | ◇ | ◇ | — | — |
| PSU | ◇ | ◇ | — | — | |
| RSU | ◇ | ◇ | — | — | |
| RSU | ◇ | ◇ | — | — | |
| PSU | ◇ | ◇ | — | — | |
| Alexandros Aldous | PSU | ◇ | ◇ | — | — |
| RSU | ◇ | ◇ | — | — | |
| RSU | ◇ | ◇ | — | — | |
| PSU | ◇ | ◇ | — | — | |
| RSU | ◇ | ◇ | — | — | |
| John Pappas | RSU | ◇ | ◇ | — | — |
| RSU | ◇ | ◇ | — | — | |
| RSU | ◇ | ◇ | — | — | |
| PSU | ◇ | ◇ | — | — | |
| PSU | ◇ | ◇ | — | — | |
| Christopher Pappas | PSU | ◇ | ◇ | — | — |
| RSU | ◇ | ◇ | — | — | |
| PSU | ◇ | ◇ | — | — | |
| RSU | ◇ | ◇ | — | — | |
| RSU | ◇ | ◇ | — | — |
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero.
Director compensation
What each non-employee director was paid.
Fiscal 2025
| Director | Fees earned in cash | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Pension and deferred earnings | All other compensation | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aylwin Lewis | ◇ | ◇ | — | — | — | — | ◇ |
Lester Owens | ◇ | ◇ | — | — | — | — | ◇ |
Ivy Brown | ◇ | ◇ | — | — | — | — | ◇ |
Debra Walton-Ruskin | ◇ | ◇ | — | — | — | — | ◇ |
Steven F. Goldstone | ◇ | ◇ | — | — | — | — | ◇ |
Richard Peretz | ◇ | ◇ | — | — | — | — | ◇ |
Wendy Weinstein | ◇ | ◇ | — | — | — | — | ◇ |
Christopher Pappas and John Pappas 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.
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 units.
Disclosed peer group
The companies this board named as its compensation comparison group. The list is disclosure; the comparison is analysis.
Fiscal 2025
- Performance Food Group Company PFGC
- Sysco Corporation SYY
- United Natural Foods, Inc. UNFI
- US Foods Holding Corp. USFD
Say-on-pay history
Shareholder support for the compensation program, by year.
| Year | Meeting | Support | Votes for | Votes against | Abstentions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | May 8, 2026 | = | ◇ | ◇ | ◇ |
| 2024 | May 9, 2025 | = | ◇ | ◇ | ◇ |
| 2023 | May 10, 2024 | = | ◇ | ◇ | ◇ |
| 2022 | May 12, 2023 | = | ◇ | ◇ | ◇ |
| 2021 | May 13, 2022 | = | ◇ | ◇ | ◇ |
| 2020 | May 14, 2021 | = | ◇ | ◇ | ◇ |
| 2019 | May 15, 2020 | = | ◇ | ◇ | ◇ |
| 2018 | May 17, 2019 | = | ◇ | ◇ | ◇ |
| 2017 | May 18, 2018 | = | ◇ | ◇ | ◇ |
| 2016 | May 19, 2017 | = | ◇ | ◇ | ◇ |
What this page does not include
Everything above is a fact Chefs' Warehouse disclosed, and it is free. Everything below is our analysis of those facts, and it is not.
Peer benchmarking
Where Chefs' Warehouse 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 — $1,500Written 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 — $1,500Board and governance analysis
Committee composition, independence, director pay positioning, and the governance provisions read together rather than listed.
Board Governance Report — $1,200Realizable 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 IntelligenceSay-on-pay responsiveness
Chefs' Warehouse 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 analysisAdviser switching and vote outcomes
Two datasets covering compensation-adviser changes and what followed a contested vote. Both are part of the Velarion platform.
Inquire about accessMultiple companies at once
Cross-company views, cohort screens, and data export across the industries we cover. This page is one company; the platform is all of them.
Velarion IntelligenceCitations
Every figure on this page is cited to the document that reported it. Select any figure to see its citation.
216 figures on this page: 206 cited to the filing that reported them, 10 calculated from figures it prints.
206 cited to the filing
10 calculated from the filing
Documents cited
- 0000947871-26-000509
- 0001517175-26-000012Director Compensation · Grants of Plan-Based Awards · Outstanding Equity Awards at 202 · Summary Compensation Table – Fiscal Years
- 0000947871-25-000510
- 0000947871-24-000474
- 0000947871-23-000588
- 0000947871-22-000610
- 0000947871-21-000579
- 0000947871-20-000500
- 0000947871-19-000388
- 0000947871-18-000429
- 0000947871-17-000391
Cite this data
This page is free to cite. Attribution we ask for:
Velarion, “Chefs' Warehouse executive compensation, FY2025.” https://intel.velarion.ai/comp/CHEF (accessed 2026).
Short form: data: Velarion
The Chefs' Warehouse brief, $1,500
Positioning against its disclosed peers, the governance read, incentive design, and the CD&A alignment analysis; the full peer table; a committee-ready PDF.
From $1,200 for the board report; $2,400 for both.
11 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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Peers Chefs' Warehouse discloses
The companies named in CHEF's own disclosed peer group.
Terms on this page
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}
}