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Nasdaq Executive Compensation (FY25)

NDAQ · Executive and director compensation, fiscal 2022 to 2025
Chief executive, fiscal 2025
◇
Adena Friedman
Latest say-on-pay support
=
June 10, 2026
Chief executive pay ratio
◇
To the median employee
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Data as of November 3, 2026Latest filing (8-K): June 16, 2026
16 filings cited on this page
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325 figures on this page: 314 cited to the filing that reported them, 11 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 — Adena Friedman: $21,518,170 → $25,014,550 (16.2% higher)
Say-on-pay support: 95.8% → 96.0% (0.2 points higher)
CEO pay ratio: 234:1 → 246:1 (5.1% higher)

Frequently asked questions

Answers drawn from the data on this page.
Who is Nasdaq's chief executive and what were they paid?
Total compensation for Adena Friedman, Chair and CEO, came to $25,014,550 in fiscal 2025. Friedman's total moved 16.2% higher from the $21,518,170 reported for fiscal 2024.
What was Nasdaq's say-on-pay result?
Shareholders supported the say-on-pay proposal with 96.0% of votes cast including abstentions in favor at the meeting held June 10, 2026 for fiscal 2025.
Which companies are in Nasdaq's peer group?
The disclosed peer group names Adobe Inc., Autodesk, Inc., BGC Group, Inc., Cboe Global Markets, Inc. and CME Group Inc., among others.
What is Nasdaq's chief executive pay ratio?
For fiscal 2025, the company reported a chief executive pay ratio of 246:1, against median employee compensation of $101,885.

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
Adena Friedman
Chair and CEO
◇—◇◇◇—◇◇
Tal Cohen
President
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Bradley Peterson
EVP and CIO/CTO
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
P.C. Nelson Griggs
President
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Ann Dennison
EVP and CFO
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Fiscal 2023
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Adena Friedman
Chair and CEO
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Sarah Youngwood
EVP and CFO
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Ann Dennison
Former EVP and CFO
Departed during or after this year
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Brendan Brothers
EVP and Head of Financial Crime Management Technology
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Tal Cohen
President
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
P.C Griggs
President
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Fiscal 2024
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Adena Friedman
Chair and CEO
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
P.C. Nelson Griggs
President
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Tal Cohen
President
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Brendan Brothers
Former EVP and Head of Financial Crime Management Technology
Departed during or after this year
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Bradley Peterson
EVP and CIO/CTO
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Sarah Youngwood
EVP and CFO
◇———◇—◇◇
Fiscal 2025
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Adena Friedman
Chair and CEO
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Tal Cohen
President
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Sarah Youngwood
EVP and CFO
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
P.C. Nelson Griggs
President
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Bradley J. Peterson
EVP and CIO/CTO
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
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
Adena T. FriedmanRSU◇——◇——◇
Adena T. FriedmanPSU◇—◇—◇—◇
Bradley J. PetersonRSU◇——◇——◇
Bradley J. PetersonPSU◇—◇—◇—◇
P.C. Nelson GriggsPSU◇—◇—◇—◇
P.C. Nelson GriggsRSU◇——◇——◇
Sarah YoungwoodPSU◇—◇—◇—◇
Sarah YoungwoodRSU◇——◇——◇
Tal CohenPSU◇—◇—◇—◇
Tal CohenRSU◇——◇——◇
Tal CohenPSU◇—◇—◇—◇
Tal CohenRSU◇——◇——◇
Fiscal 2022, 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
Adena FriedmanOption◇—◇01/03/2032
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
Sarah YoungwoodPSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
Tal CohenPSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
Bradley J. PetersonPSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
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.
Adena Friedman
Chair and CEO · Employment agreement
Severance multiple◇
Severance cash amount◇
Change-in-control multiple◇
Benefits continuation on change in control◇
Benefits continuation◇
Non-compete period◇
Bradley J. Peterson
Executive Vice President · Employment agreement
Change-in-control multiple◇
Benefits continuation on change in control◇
Benefits continuation◇
Non-compete period◇
P.C. Nelson Griggs
President · Terms as described in the company’s compensation discussion
Severance multiple◇
Severance cash amount◇
Change-in-control multiple◇
Benefits continuation on change in control◇
Benefits continuation◇
Non-compete period◇
Non-solicit period◇
Sarah Youngwood
EVP and CFO · Employment agreement
Severance multiple◇
Severance cash amount◇
Change-in-control multiple◇
Benefits continuation on change in control◇
Benefits continuation◇
Non-compete period◇
Non-solicit period◇
Tal Cohen
President · Employment agreement
Severance multiple◇
Change-in-control multiple◇
Benefits continuation on change in control◇
Benefits continuation◇
Non-compete period◇

Director compensation

What each non-employee director was paid.
Fiscal 2025
DirectorFees earned in cashStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Thomas A. Kloet
—◇———◇◇
Michael R. Splinter
Lead independent director
—◇————◇
Melissa M. Arnoldi
◇◇————◇
Jeffery W. Yabuki
—◇————◇
Charlene T. Begley
◇◇————◇
Alfred W. Zollar
—◇————◇
Toni Townes-Whitley
◇◇————◇
Johan Torgeby
◇◇————◇
Kathryn A. Koch
◇◇————◇
Essa Kazim
—◇————◇
Holden Spaht
◇◇————◇
Adena T. Friedman 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 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
  • Adobe Inc. ADBE
  • Autodesk, Inc. ADSK
  • BGC Group, Inc. BGC
  • Cboe Global Markets, Inc. CBOE
  • CME Group Inc. CME
  • Deutsche Börse AG DB1
  • Discover Financial Services DFS
  • FactSet Research Systems Inc. FDS
  • Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. FIS
  • Fiserv, Inc. FI
  • Gen Digital Inc. GEN
  • Global Payments Inc. GPN
  • Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. ICE
  • Intuit Inc. INTU
  • London Stock Exchange Group plc symbol not shown
  • Mastercard Incorporated MA
  • Moody's Corporation MCO
  • MSCI Inc. MSCI
  • PayPal Holdings, Inc. PYPL
  • S&P Global Inc. SPGI
  • ServiceNow, Inc. NOW
  • The Charles Schwab Corporation SCHW
  • TMX Group Limited symbol not shown
  • Verisk Analytics, Inc. VRSK
  • Visa Inc. V
  • Workday, Inc. WDAY

Say-on-pay history

Shareholder support for the compensation program, by year.
YearMeetingSupportVotes forVotes againstAbstentions
2025June 10, 2026=◇◇◇
2024June 11, 2025=◇◇◇
2023June 11, 2024=◇◇◇
2022June 21, 2023=◇◇◇
2021June 22, 2022=◇◇◇
2020June 15, 2021=◇◇◇
2019May 19, 2020=◇◇◇
2018April 23, 2019=◇◇◇
2017April 24, 2018=◇◇◇
2016May 10, 2017=◇◇◇
2015May 5, 2016=◇◇◇

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?”
- Adena Friedman (Chair and CEO), FY2025 total compensation $25,014,550 (base salary $1,359,616) [exec_comp, SEC accession 0001628280-26-027245, filed 2026-04-24]

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What this page does not include

Everything above is a fact Nasdaq disclosed, and it is free. Everything below is our analysis of those facts, and it is not.
Peer benchmarking
Where Nasdaq 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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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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Citations

Every figure on this page is cited to the document that reported it. Select any figure to see its citation.
325 figures on this page: 314 cited to the filing that reported them, 11 calculated from figures it prints.
314 cited to the filing
11 calculated from the filing

Documents cited

  1. 0001193125-26-272736
    Proposal 2: Approval of the Company’s Executive Compensation on an Advisory Basis
  2. 0001628280-26-027245
    CEO Pay Ratio · Director Compensation · Executive Compensation Tables
  4. 0001193125-25-141406
    Proposal 2: Approval of the Company’s Executive Compensation on an Advisory Basis
  5. 0001193125-25-100786
    2024 Summary Compensation Table
  6. 0001193125-24-161624
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  7. 0001193125-24-118183
    Executive Compensation Tables
  8. 0001193125-23-176140
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  9. 0001193125-23-127255
    2022 Summary Compensation Table
  10. 0001193125-22-183931
  11. 0001193125-21-193239
  12. 0001193125-20-148793
  13. 0001193125-19-122394
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  14. 0001193125-18-138864
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  15. 0001193125-17-168646
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  16. 0001193125-16-583900
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
Cite this data
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Velarion, “Nasdaq executive compensation, FY2022–FY2025.” https://intel.velarion.ai/comp/NDAQ (accessed 2026).
Short form: data: Velarion

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16 filings cited on this page
Method: intel.velarion.ai/methodology
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Peers Nasdaq discloses

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

Adobe Inc.Autodesk, Inc.BGC Group, Inc.Cboe Global Markets, Inc.CME Group Inc.Discover Financial ServicesFactSet Research Systems Inc.Fidelity National Information Services, Inc.Gen Digital Inc.Global Payments Inc.Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.Intuit Inc.Mastercard IncorporatedMoody's CorporationMSCI Inc.PayPal Holdings, Inc.S&P Global Inc.ServiceNow, Inc.The Charles Schwab CorporationVerisk Analytics, Inc.Visa Inc.Workday, 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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