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Consumer & Retail

Brown Forman Executive Compensation (FY26)

BF-B · Executive and director compensation, fiscal 2022 to 2026
Chief executive, fiscal 2026
◇
Lawson Whiting
Median of the other named officers
$4,012,935
5 officers, excluding the chief executive
Latest say-on-pay support
=
July 23, 2026
Chief executive pay ratio
◇
To the median employee
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Data as of November 11, 2026Latest filing (8-K): July 23, 2026
8 filings cited on this page
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419 figures on this page: 415 cited to the filing that reported them, 4 calculated from figures it prints. See the citations

More on Brown Forman

Five data products on this company. Each one is requested through the developer setup page.
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 — Lawson Whiting: $13,449,544 → $25,304,882 (88.1% higher)
CEO pay ratio: 219:1 → 439:1 (100.5% higher)

Frequently asked questions

Answers drawn from the data on this page.
Who is Brown Forman's chief executive and what were they paid?
Total compensation for Lawson Whiting, President and Chief Executive Officer, came to $25,304,882 in fiscal 2026. Whiting's total was 88.1% higher than the $13,449,544 reported for fiscal 2025.
What was Brown Forman's say-on-pay result?
Shareholders supported the say-on-pay proposal with 85.4% of votes cast including abstentions in favor at the meeting held July 23, 2026 for fiscal 2026.
Which companies are in Brown Forman's peer group?
The disclosed peer group includes Church & Dwight Co., Inc., Conagra Brands, Inc., Constellation Brands, Inc., Diageo plc and Edgewell Personal Care Company, among others.
What is Brown Forman's chief executive pay ratio?
The company reported a chief executive pay ratio of 439:1 for fiscal 2026, against median employee compensation of $57,651.

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
Lawson Whiting
President and Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇◇◇◇◇◇
Thomas Hinrichs
Executive Vice President, President, Emerging International
◇—◇◇◇—◇◇
Leanne Cunningham
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇◇◇—◇◇
Matthew Hamel
Executive Vice President and General Counsel
◇—◇◇◇—◇◇
Kirsten Hawley
Executive Vice President, Chief People, Places, and Communications Officer
◇—◇◇◇—◇◇
Fiscal 2023
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Lawson Whiting
President and Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇◇◇◇◇◇
Leanne Cunningham
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇◇◇◇◇◇
Thomas Hinrichs
Former Executive Vice President, President, Emerging International
◇—◇◇◇—◇◇
Matthew Hamel
Executive Vice President and General Counsel
◇—◇◇◇◇◇◇
Kirsten Hawley
Executive Vice President, Chief People, Places, and Communications Officer
◇—◇◇◇—◇◇
Fiscal 2024
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Lawson Whiting
President and Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇◇◇◇◇◇
Leanne Cunningham
Former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇◇◇◇◇◇
Marshall Farrer
Executive Vice President, Chief Strategic Growth Officer
◇—◇◇◇◇◇◇
Matthew Hamel
Executive Vice President and General Counsel
◇—◇◇◇◇◇◇
Thomas Hinrichs
Executive Vice President, President, Emerging International
◇—◇◇◇—◇◇
Fiscal 2025
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Lawson Whiting
President and Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇◇◇◇◇◇
Leanne Cunningham
Former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇◇◇◇◇◇
Marshall Farrer
Executive Vice President, Chief Strategic Growth Officer
◇—◇◇◇◇◇◇
Matias Bentel
Former Executive Vice President, Chief Brands Officer
Departed during or after this year
◇—◇◇◇◇◇◇
Timothy Nall
Executive Vice President, Chief Global Supply Chain and Technology Officer
◇—◇◇◇◇◇◇
Thomas Hinrichs
Former Executive Vice President, President, Emerging International
Departed during or after this year
◇———◇◇—◇
Jeremy Shepherd
Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer
◇—◇◇◇◇◇◇
Fiscal 2026
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Lawson Whiting
President and Chief Executive Officer
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
Leanne Cunningham
Former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Departed during or after this year
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
Michael Carr
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
Michael Masick
Executive Vice President, President, Americas
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
Yiannis Pafilis
Executive Vice President, President, Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific
◇◇◇◇◇—◇◇
James Peters
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial 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 2026
OfficerAwardGrant dateThreshold unitsTarget unitsUnits grantedMaximum unitsExercise priceGrant date fair value
James W. PetersPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
James W. PetersOPTION◇——◇—◇◇
Lawson E. WhitingPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Lawson E. WhitingPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Lawson E. WhitingOPTION◇——◇—◇◇
Leanne D. CunninghamPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Leanne D. CunninghamPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Leanne D. CunninghamOPTION◇——◇—◇◇
Michael A. MasickPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Michael A. MasickPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Michael A. MasickOPTION◇——◇—◇◇
Michael E. Carr Jr.PSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Michael E. Carr Jr.PSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Michael E. Carr Jr.OPTION◇——◇—◇◇
Yiannis PafilisPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Yiannis PafilisPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Yiannis PafilisOPTION◇——◇—◇◇
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
Lawson WhitingOption◇—◇April 30, 2035
PSU◇◇——
Option◇—◇April 30, 2034
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
Option◇—◇April 30, 2033
RSU◇◇——
Leanne CunninghamOption◇—◇April 30, 2035
Option◇—◇April 30, 2034
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
Option◇—◇April 30, 2033
RSU◇◇——
Yiannis PafilisPSU◇◇——
Option◇—◇April 30, 2035
PSU◇◇——
Option◇—◇April 30, 2034
PSU◇◇——
Option◇—◇April 30, 2033
Option◇—◇April 30, 2033
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
Option◇—◇April 30, 2033
RSU◇◇——
Michael MasickPSU◇◇——
Option◇—◇April 30, 2035
PSU◇◇——
Option◇—◇April 30, 2034
PSU◇◇——
Option◇—◇April 30, 2033
RSU◇◇——
Michael CarrPSU◇◇——
Option◇—◇April 30, 2035
PSU◇◇——
Option◇—◇April 30, 2034
PSU◇◇——
Option◇—◇April 30, 2033
RSU◇◇——
James PetersOption◇—◇April 30, 2035
PSU◇◇——
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 2026
DirectorFees earned in cashStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Marshall B. Farrer
Board chair
◇◇———◇◇
Michael A. Todman
Lead independent director
◇◇———◇◇
Michael J. Roney
◇◇———◇◇
Elizabeth A. Smith
◇◇————◇
Jan E. Singer
◇◇———◇◇
Tracy L. Skeans
◇◇———◇◇
Campbell P. Brown
◇◇———◇◇
Mark A. Clouse
◇◇————◇
Elizabeth M. Brown
—◇———◇◇
W. Austin Musselman Jr
◇————◇◇
Lawson E. Whiting 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◇
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◇
Board meeting fee◇
Committee meeting fee◇
Equity is delivered as deferred stock units.

Disclosed peer group

The companies this board named as its compensation comparison group. The list is disclosure; the comparison is analysis.
Fiscal 2026
  • Church & Dwight Co., Inc. CHD
  • Conagra Brands, Inc. CAG
  • Constellation Brands, Inc. STZ
  • Diageo plc DEO
  • Edgewell Personal Care Company EPC
  • Energizer Holdings, Inc. ENR
  • Harley-Davidson, Inc. HOG
  • Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. KDP
  • McCormick & Co Inc. MKC
  • Molson Coors Beverage Company TAP
  • Monster Beverage Corporation MNST
  • Pernod Ricard SA symbol not shown
  • Post Holdings, Inc. POST
  • The Boston Beer Company, Inc. SAM
  • The Campbell’s Company symbol not shown
  • The Clorox Company CLX
  • The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. HAIN
  • The Hershey Company HSY
  • The J.M. Smucker Company SJM
  • YETI Holdings, Inc. YETI

Say-on-pay history

Shareholder support for the compensation program, by year.
YearMeetingSupportVotes forVotes againstAbstentions
2026July 23, 2026=◇◇◇
2023July 27, 2023=◇◇◇
2020July 30, 2020=◇◇◇
2017July 27, 2017=◇◇◇

Chief executive pay ratio

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

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Sample answer — “What is the CEO’s total compensation?”
- Lawson Whiting (President and Chief Executive Officer), FY2026 total compensation $25,304,882 (base salary $1,314,365) [exec_comp, SEC accession 0001193125-26-275853, filed 2026-06-18]

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What this page does not include

Everything above is a fact Brown Forman disclosed, and it is free. Everything below is our analysis of those facts, and it is not.
Peer benchmarking
Where Brown Forman 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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Executive Compensation Report — $299
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.
419 figures on this page: 415 cited to the filing that reported them, 4 calculated from figures it prints.
415 cited to the filing
4 calculated from the filing

Documents cited

  1. 0000014693-26-000035
    Proposal 2: Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation The Company's Class A common stockholders approved, on a nonbinding advisory basis, the compensation of the Company's Named Executive Officers.
  2. 0001193125-26-275853
    Compensation Tables · Director Compensation · Grants of Plan-Based Awards · Outstanding Equity Awards · and 1 more section
  3. 0001193125-24-165706
    COMPENSATION TABLES
  4. 0000014693-23-000098
    Item 5.07. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.
  5. 0001193125-23-173793
    Compensation Tables
  6. 0000014693-20-000093
    Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation
  7. 0000014693-17-000172
    Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation
  8. 0001193125-25-143663
    Compensation Tables
Cite this data
This page is free to cite. Attribution we ask for:
Velarion, “Brown Forman executive compensation, FY2022–FY2026.” https://intel.velarion.ai/comp/BF-B (accessed 2026).
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The paid brief for Brown Forman

Positioning against its disclosed peers, the governance read, incentive design, and the CD&A alignment analysis; the full peer table; a committee-ready PDF.
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8 filings cited on this page
Method: intel.velarion.ai/methodology
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Consumer & Retail rankings

Chief executive pay — Consumer & RetailCEO pay ratio — Consumer & RetailSay-on-pay support — Consumer & Retail

Peers Brown Forman discloses

The companies named in BF-B's own disclosed peer group.

Church & Dwight Co., Inc.Conagra Brands, Inc.Constellation Brands, Inc.Edgewell Personal Care CompanyEnergizer Holdings, Inc.Harley-Davidson, Inc.Keurig Dr Pepper Inc.McCormick & Co Inc.Molson Coors Beverage CompanyMonster Beverage CorporationPost Holdings, Inc.The Boston Beer Company, Inc.The Clorox CompanyThe Hain Celestial Group, Inc.The Hershey CompanyThe J.M. Smucker CompanyYETI Holdings, 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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