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Upwork Executive Compensation (FY25)

UPWK · Palo Alto, CA · Executive and director compensation, fiscal 2022 to 2025
Chief executive, fiscal 2025
◇
Hayden Brown
Latest say-on-pay support
=
June 4, 2026
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Data as of October 22, 2026Latest filing (8-K): June 5, 2026
11 filings cited on this page
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191 figures on this page: 184 cited to the filing that reported them, 7 calculated from figures it prints. See the citations

More on Upwork

Five data products on this company. Each one is requested through the developer setup page.
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 — Hayden Brown: $9,931,909 → $17,094,702 (72.1% higher)

Frequently asked questions

Answers drawn from the data on this page.
Who is Upwork's chief executive and what were they paid?
Hayden Brown, President and Chief Executive Officer, received $17,094,702 in total compensation for fiscal 2025. Brown's total was 72.1% higher than the $9,931,909 reported for fiscal 2024.
What was Upwork's say-on-pay result?
The say-on-pay proposal drew 72.0% of votes cast for or against in favor at the meeting held June 4, 2026 for fiscal 2025.
Which companies are in Upwork's peer group?
The disclosed peer group names AppFolio, Appian, Asana, BlackLine and CarGurus, among others.

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
Hayden Brown
President and Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Jeff McCombs
Former Chief Financial Officer
Departed during or after this year
◇—◇———◇◇
Eric Gilpin
Chief Sales Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Fiscal 2023
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Hayden Brown
President and Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Erica Gessert
Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Eric Gilpin
Former Chief Sales Officer
Departed during or after this year
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Fiscal 2024
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Hayden Brown
President and Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Erica Gessert
Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
David Bottoms
GM, Marketplace
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Fiscal 2025
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Hayden Brown
President and Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Erica Gessert
Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
David Bottoms
GM, Marketplace
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
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
Erica GessertPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Erica GessertRSU◇——◇——◇
Hayden BrownRSU◇——◇——◇
Hayden BrownPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
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
Erica GessertPSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
David BottomsPSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
Hayden BrownRSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
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.
David Bottoms
GM, Marketplace · Terms as described in the company’s compensation discussion · citing a 2025 filing
Severance base◇
Severance cash amount◇
Change-in-control multiple◇
Equity acceleration on change in control◇
Erica Gessert
Chief Financial Officer · Terms as described in the company’s compensation discussion · citing a 2025 filing
Severance cash amount◇
Equity acceleration on change in control◇
Hayden Brown
President and Chief Executive Officer · Terms as described in the company’s compensation discussion · citing a 2025 filing
Severance cash amount◇
Equity acceleration on change in control◇

Director compensation

What each non-employee director was paid.
Fiscal 2025
DirectorFees earned in cashStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Glenn Kelman
◇◇————◇
Dana L. Evan
◇◇————◇
Thomas Layton
◇◇————◇
Leela Srinivasan
◇◇————◇
Anilu Vazquez-Ubarri
◇◇————◇
Gary Steele
◇◇————◇
Kevin Harvey
◇◇————◇
Elizabeth Nelson
◇—————◇
Gregory C. Gretsch
◇—————◇
Hayden Brown, David Lissy and Claire Bramley 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◇
Board chair premium◇
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.
Stock ownership guideline: 3x annual cash retainer for service as member of board of directors

Disclosed peer group

The companies this board named as its compensation comparison group. The list is disclosure; the comparison is analysis.
Fiscal 2025
  • AppFolio APPF
  • Appian APPN
  • Asana ASAN
  • BlackLine BL
  • CarGurus CARG
  • Cars.com CARS
  • Fastly FSLY
  • Fiverr International FVRR
  • LegalZoom.com LZ
  • Magnite MGNI
  • Paylocity PCTY
  • Q2 Holdings QTWO
  • Redfin RDFN
  • Revolve Group RVLV
  • Shutterstock SSTK
  • Smartsheet SMAR
  • Tripadvisor TRIP
  • ZipRecruiter ZIP

Say-on-pay history

Shareholder support for the compensation program, by year.
YearMeetingSupportVotes forVotes againstAbstentions
2025June 4, 2026=◇◇◇
2024June 5, 2025=◇◇◇
2023June 7, 2024=◇◇◇
2022June 9, 2023=◇◇◇
2021June 2, 2022=◇◇◇
2020June 1, 2021=◇◇◇
2019June 1, 2020=◇◇◇

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Sample answer — “What is the CEO’s total compensation?”
- Hayden Brown (President and Chief Executive Officer), FY2025 total compensation $17,094,702 (base salary $625,000) [exec_comp, SEC accession 0001627475-26-000026, filed 2026-04-23]

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What this page does not include

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

Every figure on this page is cited to the document that reported it. Select any figure to see its citation.
191 figures on this page: 184 cited to the filing that reported them, 7 calculated from figures it prints.
184 cited to the filing
7 calculated from the filing

Documents cited

  1. 0001627475-26-000036
  2. 0001627475-26-000026
    2025 Summary Compensation Table · Director Compensation · Grants of Plan-Based Awards · Non-Employee Director Compensation Arrangements · and 1 more section
  3. 0001627475-25-000035
  4. 0001627475-25-000025
    Compensation Discussion and Analysis · Executive Compensation Tables
  5. 0001627475-24-000024
  6. 0001140361-24-021188
    2023 Summary Compensation Table
  7. 0001627475-23-000039
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  8. 0001140361-23-021277
    2022 Summary Compensation Table
  9. 0001627475-22-000021
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  10. 0001627475-21-000024
  11. 0001627475-20-000022
Cite this data
This page is free to cite. Attribution we ask for:
Velarion, “Upwork executive compensation, FY2022–FY2025.” https://intel.velarion.ai/comp/UPWK (accessed 2026).
Short form: data: Velarion

The paid brief for Upwork

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 $499 for the board report; $2,400 for both.
Get the executive briefGet the board briefNo account needed.
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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Tech — Software rankings

Chief executive pay — Tech — SoftwareCEO pay ratio — Tech — SoftwareSay-on-pay support — Tech — Software

Peers Upwork discloses

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

AppFolioAppianAsanaBlackLineCarGurusCars.comFastlyLegalZoom.comMagnitePaylocityQ2 HoldingsRedfinRevolve GroupShutterstockSmartsheetTripadvisorZipRecruiter

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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