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Jon Adams

President, Americas at COLUMBUS MCKINNONCOLUMBUS MCKINNON
Executive

About Jon Adams

Jon Adams (age 47) is President, Americas at Columbus McKinnon, appointed September 20, 2024, after roles as CFO, Americas (2022–2024), President, Crane Solutions Group (2021–2022), and Treasurer/Director of FP&A (joined 2020); earlier he was Director of Finance at Momentive Performance Materials and began his career as a CPA at Ernst & Young for eight years . In FY2025, CMCO delivered $965M in net sales, $150.5M in Adjusted EBITDA, and recorded a GAAP net loss of $5.1M, reflecting non-cash charges and transaction-related costs; company TSR for 2025 (vs. a $100 baseline) was 72.26, underscoring mixed shareholder returns amid transformation initiatives .

Past Roles

OrganizationRoleYearsStrategic Impact
Columbus McKinnonPresident, AmericasAppointed 9/20/2024 – presentLeads regional P&L and execution during integration and growth initiatives .
Columbus McKinnonCFO, Americas2022–2024Regional finance leadership through portfolio and margin initiatives .
Columbus McKinnonPresident, Crane Solutions Group2021–2022Led segment operations and commercial execution .
Columbus McKinnonTreasurer & Director, FP&A2020–2021Corporate capital planning and performance analytics .
Momentive Performance MaterialsDirector of FinancePre-2020Division finance leadership prior to CMCO .
Ernst & YoungExternal Auditor (CPA)~8 yearsPublic audit, controls and reporting foundation .

External Roles

None disclosed for Adams in the 2025 proxy .

Performance Compensation

Company PSU design (applies to executive LTIP)

MetricWeightThresholdTargetMaximumPayout Mechanics
Sales Growth50%1%5%9%3-year PSUs with annual (25% each year) and cumulative (25%) measurement; vests at 3rd anniversary based on performance .
EBITDA Margin Improvement (bps)50%0 bps50 bps80 bpsInterpolation between levels; fully earned awards paid at end of FY2027 .

Note: The 2023 PSU cycle (ROIC focus) paid at 63.3% based on FY2025 ROIC of 5.8% (context for the plan’s rigor) .

Adams’ disclosed equity grants and vesting cadence (from Forms 3/4)

InstrumentGrant/TrancheVesting StartCadenceQuantityNotes
RSUsAnnual grant5/19/202633.33% per year (3 years)6,641New RSU grant under 2016 LTIP (as amended 6/4/2024) .
Stock Options (NQ)Annual grant (exercise $17.59)5/19/202633.33% per year (3 years); 10-year term13,877Non-qualified options; vesting contingent on continued service .
RSUs (prior awards)Single tranche8/22/2025Cliff1,499.0197Scheduled vest; related tax-withholding sale occurred 8/22/2025 (Code F) .
RSUs (prior awards)2-year vest5/22/202550% per year (2 years)1,460.4526First half vested 5/22/2025; remainder 5/22/2026 .
RSUs (prior awards)2-year vest1/22/202650% per year (2 years)1,344.3386Service-based vest schedule .
RSUs (prior awards)2-year vest5/20/202650% per year (2 years)1,234.8563Service-based vest schedule .
RSUsVested5/20/2025Vested617.9339229 shares sold and 0.9339 shares cash-settled to cover taxes (Code F) .
RSUsVested8/22/2025Vested1,506.0825481.0825 shares withheld/sold for taxes at $14.70 (Code F) .

Recurring vest dates (and typical tax-withholding flows): mid/late May and late August (and January for certain tranches), which may create predictable, small forced sales for tax purposes (Form 4 codes F), not discretionary open-market selling .

Equity Ownership & Alignment

ItemDetail
Beneficial ownership (post-8/22/2025)14,757.2337 shares total, including 9,998.2337 restricted/unvested; balance ~4,759 free shares .
Ownership as % of shares outstanding~0.05% (14,757.2337 / 28,688,208 common shares outstanding as of 6/16/2025) .
Options outstanding13,877 NQ options granted 5/19/2025, vesting 33.33% annually starting 5/19/2026 .
New RSU grant cadence6,641 RSUs granted with 3-year ratable vest starting 5/19/2026 .
Stock ownership guidelineOfficers (incl. business presidents) required to hold 3x base salary; 50% after-tax retention until met .
Hedging/pledgingNot permitted under company policy (anti-hedging and anti-pledging) .
Clawback policyBroader than SEC rule: applies to restatements and certain misconduct/ restrictive covenant breaches; covers cash and equity incentives (time- and performance-based) .

Employment Terms

  • Role and tenure: Appointed President, Americas on 9/20/2024; with CMCO since 2020 in finance and operating roles .
  • Executive severance (non-CIC): Company indicates severance protection for officers; typical benefits include 1x base salary, one year health/welfare at active rates, outplacement up to $15,000, and equity treated as “Retirement” per award/plan terms (subject to release) .
  • Change-in-control (CIC) agreements: CMCO has CIC agreements with NEOs and other officers; double-trigger coverage (termination without cause or good reason within 6 months before/24 months after a CIC) up to 3x salary plus target bonus, lump-sum COBRA equivalent (36 months), pension accrual equivalency, and full vesting of options/RSUs/PSUs unless otherwise specified .
  • Policies impacting compensation risk/quality: No excise tax gross-ups; clawback policy broader than SEC rules; anti-hedging/pledging; independent compensation consultant; double-trigger equity acceleration on CIC .

Compensation Structure Context (company program, applicable to senior officers)

  • Annual Incentive Plan prioritizes operating income and free cash flow (company-wide design) .
  • Long-term incentives mix for senior execs typically includes PSUs (50%), RSUs (25%), and stock options (25%) with market-competitive targets; NEO targets shown for reference (Adams’ specific targets not disclosed) .
  • 2025 PSU cycle measures sales growth and EBITDA margin improvement with multi-year rigor and no mid-cycle goal adjustments despite macro headwinds .

Risk Indicators & Red Flags

  • Pledging/hedging: Prohibited, reducing misalignment risk .
  • Clawback coverage: Expanded triggers beyond restatements; enhances accountability .
  • Insider selling: 2025 Forms 4 show F-coded tax-withholding dispositions upon RSU vesting, not discretionary open-market sales (e.g., 5/20/2025 and 8/22/2025), limiting adverse signaling; options granted 5/19/2025 vest from 2026 onward .

Say-on-Pay, Governance, and Peer Framework

  • Say-on-Pay: 2024 approval exceeded 88%, signaling broad support for pay design .
  • Compensation committee and advisor: Human Capital, Compensation & Succession Committee (independent directors) retained Meridian as independent consultant; no conflicts reported .
  • Benchmarking: 20-company industrial peer group used for market calibration (FY2025) .

Investment Implications

  • Alignment and retention: Adams holds a meaningful mix of unvested RSUs and recently granted options with multi-year vesting beginning 2026; anti-hedging/pledging and robust clawback increase alignment quality .
  • Selling pressure and supply: Expect periodic, modest F-coded (tax) dispositions around vest dates (January, May, August), which are non-discretionary and typically not bearish signals; monitor for any shift to discretionary sales or 10b5-1 activity .
  • Change-in-control economics: Double-trigger with up to 3x multiple and full equity vesting reduces flight risk during strategic events; neutral-to-positive for execution continuity in M&A scenarios .
  • Pay-for-performance integrity: PSU metrics emphasize sales growth and EBITDA margin expansion with multi-year calibration and no retroactive goal easing, supporting incentive credibility through cycles .

Citations:
SEC Forms 3/4: