Abraham Kuruvilla
ACI WORLDWIDEAbout Abraham Kuruvilla
Abraham “Abe” Kuruvilla is Executive Vice President and Chief Technology and Operations Officer at ACI Worldwide; he was appointed CTO on October 30, 2023 and is 53 years old as of February 27, 2025 . Prior to ACI, he served as CIO at CoreLogic and Dell Financial Services, and held technology leadership roles at De Lage Landen Financial Services; he holds a BS in electrical and computer engineering and an MBA from Drexel University . ACI’s 2024 incentive outcomes that informed his pay-for-performance assessments included Adjusted EBITDA of $466.8M (200% payout for that metric), Revenue Net of Interchange of $1,130.4M (125.04% payout), and an overall STIP payout of 155.03% of target; PSUs include an adjusted EBITDA gate and a +/-20% relative TSR multiplier versus the S&P SmallCap 600 over three years .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| CoreLogic, Inc. | Chief Information Officer | Not disclosed | Led technology strategy, engineering, cybersecurity, internal systems, and IT operations |
| Dell Financial Services | Chief Information Officer | Not disclosed | Led enterprise technology and IT operations as CIO |
| De Lage Landen Financial Services (Rabobank subsidiary) | Technology leadership roles | Not disclosed | Senior technology leadership across financial services platforms |
External Roles
No external public-company directorships disclosed in ACI’s FY2024 10-K and 2025 DEF 14A .
Fixed Compensation
| Metric | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Base Salary ($) | $80,205 (partial year; annual rate $460,000) | $465,000 (annual rate $470,000 after review) |
| Target Bonus % of Base | Not eligible for 2023 STIP due to mid-year hire | 100% of base ($470,000 target) |
| Actual STIP Payout ($) | N/A | $728,641 (155.03% of target based on corporate results) |
| Sign-on / Special Bonus ($) | N/A | $540,000 sign-on paid March 2024 |
| All Other Compensation ($) | $144 | $13,164 (financial planning $4,066; 401(k) $6,000; LTD premiums $864; other $2,234) |
| Total Reported Compensation ($) | $1,680,353 | $4,349,741 |
Performance Compensation
2024 Short-Term Incentive Plan (STIP)
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout % | Payout ($) | Notes/Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adjusted EBITDA (budget FX) | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | $466.8M | 200% | Included in overall | Corporate results certified Feb 2025 |
| Revenue Net of Interchange (Growth) (budget FX) | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | $1,130.4M | 125.04% | Included in overall | Corporate results certified Feb 2025 |
| Combined Weighted STIP Result | — | — | — | 155.03% | $728,641 | Must be employed on payment date; forfeiture for misconduct per award terms |
2024 Long-Term Incentive Program (LTIP)
| Award | Grant date | Shares (threshold/target/max) | Grant date fair value ($) | Key performance terms | Vesting schedule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) | 3/4/2024 | 39,136 (time-based) | $1,250,004 | Time-based retention | Generally equal quarterly installments over three years |
| Performance Share Units (PSUs) | 3/4/2024 | 9,784 / 39,136 / 78,272 | $1,352,932 (probable outcome basis) | Gross Revenue Growth; adjusted EBITDA gate; rTSR vs S&P SmallCap 600 as +/-20% multiplier over three years | Performance period 3/1/2024–2/28/2027; vests after performance certification |
| Annual LTIP Target Mix (value) | 2024 | $1,250,000 PSUs; $1,250,000 RSUs; total $2,500,000 | — | Emphasis on performance-based equity; first full annual award at ACI | — |
| 2023 New-Hire RSUs | 11/29/2023 | 39,288 (remaining unvested at 12/31/24) | — | Time-based retention | Equal annual installments on first three anniversaries |
| 2023 LTIP PSUs (Tranche 2) | 2/23/2024 (Tranche 2 established) | Companywide tranche (Kuruvilla not listed for 2023 tranche initiation); N/A | — | 2023 PSUs Tranche 2 performance period 5/11/2023–2/28/2026; rTSR and financial metrics | Post-performance vesting |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
Beneficial Ownership (as of March 31, 2025)
| Category | Shares | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Directly owned | 21,337 | DEF 14A |
| Exercisable or vesting within 60 days | 11,891 | DEF 14A |
| Total beneficially owned | 33,228 (<1% of shares outstanding) | DEF 14A |
| Shares outstanding base | 105,321,684 | DEF 14A |
Outstanding Equity Awards at FY 2024 Year-End (12/31/2024)
| Award type | Shares unvested (#) | Market value ($) | Performance awards (target shares) | Performance awards value ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RSUs (3/4/2024 grant) | 29,350 | $1,523,559 (at $51.91) | — | — |
| RSUs (11/29/2023 grant) | 39,288 | $2,039,440 (at $51.91) | — | — |
| PSUs (2024 LTIP target) | — | — | 39,136 | $2,031,550 (at $51.91) |
| Options | — | — | — | — |
| 2024 stock vested | 29,430 shares; value realized $1,572,069 | — | — | — |
- Stock ownership guidelines require non-CEO executive officers to hold stock valued at least 3x base salary; executives have five years from appointment to meet guidelines (Kuruvilla’s window runs to Oct 30, 2028 based on his appointment date) .
- Hedging and pledging of ACI stock are prohibited; unvested equity awards cannot be sold, exchanged, assigned, transferred, pledged, or encumbered until vesting .
Employment Terms
| Scenario (as of 12/31/2024) | Cash severance ($) | Target bonus ($) | RSUs ($) | PSUs ($) | Health & welfare ($) | Outplacement ($) | Total ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Termination by ACI Without Cause | 940,000 | 0 | 0 | 507,887 (pro-rata, target) | 33,507 | 10,275 | 1,491,669 |
| Death | 0 | 0 | 3,562,999 | 507,887 | 0 | 0 | 4,070,886 |
| Disability | 0 | 0 | 3,562,999 | 507,887 | 0 | 0 | 4,070,886 |
| Involuntary or For Good Reason After Change in Control (double trigger) | 1,880,000 | 470,000 (pro-rated equals full target) | 3,562,999 | 2,031,550 | 64,593 | 50,000 | 8,059,141 |
- Change-in-control agreements provide two times the sum of annual base salary and target annual bonus for non-CEO executives, continued welfare benefits for two years, up to $50,000 in outplacement, payment of accrued obligations, and full vesting/ exercisability of stock-based awards upon qualifying termination during the CIC employment period; no excise tax gross-ups are provided .
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance alignment: 50% of Kuruvilla’s 2024 annual equity award value was performance-based PSUs, with outcomes tied to Gross Revenue Growth, an adjusted EBITDA gate, and rTSR versus the S&P SmallCap 600; overall 2024 corporate performance drove a 155.03% STIP payout, demonstrating sensitivity of cash incentives to operating results .
- Retention and selling pressure: RSUs from March 4, 2024 vest in equal quarterly installments over three years and November 29, 2023 RSUs vest annually, creating periodic vesting events that can motivate retention but may also contribute to predictable insider share supply; PSUs defer realization to post-2027 based on performance .
- Alignment and risk controls: Beneficial ownership remains modest (<1%), with robust ownership guidelines (3x salary within five years), clawback policies, and prohibitions on hedging/pledging mitigating misalignment and governance risk .
- Change-in-control economics: Double-trigger CIC terms with 2x salary+bonus and full equity vesting provide competitive protection; absence of excise tax gross-ups is shareholder-friendly and reduces payout inflation risk .
- Execution focus: PSU design’s emphasis on gross revenue growth and rTSR, combined with the EBITDA gate, ties long-term equity outcomes to both internal growth and market-relative performance, reinforcing strategic execution while limiting payouts if profitability thresholds are not met .