Claudia Hughes
About Claudia Hughes
Claudia Hughes is Senior Vice President and Chief Sales Officer at Global Industrial Company (GIC) since 2021; age 57; BS from the University of Maryland, College Park, with 27 years at Office Depot in progressively senior sales roles . Company performance context during her tenure: revenues rose from $1,166.1mm in FY 2022 to $1,315.9mm in FY 2024 ; EBITDA trended from $109.1mm (FY 2022) to $88.1mm (FY 2024)*. Pay-versus-performance disclosures show cumulative TSR values used in PvP analyses (company $127.05 in 2024 vs $193.31 in 2023 baseline of $100 in 2020), alongside net income of $61.0mm and adjusted operating income (AOI) of $80.5mm for 2024 .
*Values retrieved from S&P Global.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office Depot | Senior Vice President, US Field Sales | 27 years | Led B2B Sales, Sales Leadership and Sales Operations with data-driven results |
External Roles
- Not disclosed.
Fixed Compensation
| Year | Base Salary ($) | Perquisites/All Other Compensation ($) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 467,857 | — | At-will; 2025 base set by Compensation Committee |
| 2024 | 467,857 | 54,795 | As reported in Summary Compensation Table |
| 2023 | 454,200 | 40,821 | As reported in Summary Compensation Table |
| 2022 | 441,000 | 29,114 | As reported in Summary Compensation Table |
Performance Compensation
Annual Non-Equity Incentive Compensation (2024 Scorecard)
| Name | Target ($) | Cap (%) | Adjusted Operating Income (%) | Net Sales Performance (%) | Customer Scorecard (%) | Operational Scorecard (%) | Product Merchandising (%) | Human Capital (%) | Strategic Plan Implementation (%) | Individual Objectives (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claudia Hughes | 233,928 | 154 | 55 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 15 |
| Name | AOI Actual (%) | AOI Payout Ratio (%) | Net Sales Actual (%) | Net Sales Payout Ratio (%) | Customer (%) | Operational (%) | Product Merchandising (%) | Human Capital (%) | Strategic Plan (%) | Individual Objectives (%) | Weighted Avg Eligible NEIC (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claudia Hughes | 77 | 42.5 | 90 | 75 | 93 | 95 | 90 | 95 | 75 | 100 | 63.1 |
| Year | Non-Equity Incentive Compensation ($) | Stock Awards ($) (grant-date fair value) | Option Awards ($) (grant-date fair value) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 147,667 | 688,085 | 70,186 |
| 2023 | 140,970 | 385,329 | 56,765 |
| 2022 | 215,945 | 297,700 | 82,700 |
Grants of Plan-Based Awards (2024)
| Name | Threshold ($) | Target ($) | Maximum ($) | Stock Awards (#) | Option Awards (#) | Exercise Price ($/Sh) | Grant-Date Fair Value ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claudia Hughes | 54,681 | 233,928 | 360,249 | 18,702 | 4,246 | 43.83 | 758,272 |
One-time special award: 13,899 time-based RSUs granted Aug 27, 2024 .
Option Awards and Vesting (Outstanding at FY 2024 year-end)
| Exercisable (#) | Unexercisable (#) | Exercise Price ($) | Expiration | Vesting | |---:|---:|---:|---| | 4,392 | 1,463 | 44.17 | 02/21/31 | 25% per year over 4 years from grant | | 3,164 | 3,163 | 32.59 | 02/13/32 | 25% per year over 4 years | | 1,256 | 3,768 | 28.99 | 02/21/33 | 25% per year over 4 years | | 0 | 4,246 | 43.83 | 02/28/34 | 25% per year over 4 years |
RSU/PSU Awards (Outstanding at FY 2024 year-end; market value uses $24.79 close)
| Grant/Type (footnote) | Unvested Units (#) | Market Value ($) | Vesting Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| PSU (3) | 1,305 | 32,351 | AOI growth; through 2024 |
| PSU (4) | 1,813 | 44,944 | AOI growth; through 2025 |
| PSU (6) | 3,917 | 97,102 | AOI growth 1/1/2023–12/31/2025 |
| PSU (7) | 3,202 | 79,378 | AOI growth 1/1/2024–12/31/2026 |
| RSU (11) | 3,225 | 79,948 | Footnote (11) per table |
| RSU (8) | 1,468 | 36,392 | Time-based; 25% per year from 02/21/2023 |
| RSU (13) | 5,824 | 144,377 | Footnote (13) per table |
| RSU (9) | 1,601 | 39,689 | Footnote (9) per table |
| RSU (10) | 13,899 | 344,556 | Aug 27, 2024 one-time time-based award |
Vested Equity Activity (FY 2024)
| Name | Options Exercised (#) | Value Realized on Exercise ($) | RSUs Vested (#) | Value Realized on Vesting ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claudia Hughes | 0 | 0 | 1,613 (2022 grant); 490 (2023 grant); 1,941 (2023 grant) | 49,648; 21,746; 60,881 |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Date (as of) | Shares of Common Stock | RSUs Vesting Within 60 Days | Options Currently Exercisable/Within 60 Days | Percent of Common Stock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 10, 2025 | 8,262 | — | 14,174 | * (<1%) |
| Apr 12, 2024 | 5,343 | — | 7,982 | * (<1%) |
- Stock ownership guidelines: CEO 3x salary; other executive officers 1x salary; 5-year phase-in; unearned/unvested awards do not count .
- Anti-hedging/pledging: Company states it does not have a policy addressing hedging or pledging transactions under Item 407(i)(1) .
- Insider trading plans: No director or executive officer adopted or terminated a Rule 10b5-1 plan or non-rule arrangement during Q3 2025 .
- Insider trading governance: 2024 10-K exhibits include Insider Trading Policy with pre-approval requirements; note that exhibit text indicates the Company does not impose specific stock ownership level requirements on executives, which is in tension with proxy ownership guidelines disclosure .
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Employment status | At-will; no employment agreement |
| 2025 base salary | $467,857 |
| Severance | If terminated without cause: six months’ base salary (cash severance) |
| Equity upon termination/change in control | For options: immediate vesting if terminated without cause/by employee for good reason within six months following a change in control; options remain exercisable per terms (minimum 90 days) . For RSUs/PSUs: immediate vesting upon death/disability; immediate vesting at target for 2023/2024 PSUs upon qualifying CIC-related termination within six months . |
| Clawback | NYSE/Exchange Act Section 10D-compliant clawback policy for recovery of excess incentive compensation upon accounting restatements |
Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control (as of Dec 31, 2024)
| Scenario | Cash Severance Payment ($) | Accelerated Vesting: Stock Options ($) | Accelerated Vesting: RSUs/PSUs ($) | Total ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Termination due to death or total disability | — | — | 898,737 | 898,737 |
| Termination without cause or resignation for good reason within period following CIC | 233,929 | 0 | 898,737 | 1,132,666 |
Prior proxy (as of Dec 31, 2023) illustrative values: Cash $227,100; Options $79,143; RSUs/PSUs $838,789; total $1,145,032 for qualifying CIC-related termination .
Company Performance Context
| Metric | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues ($USD Millions) | 1,166.1 | 1,274.3 | 1,315.9 |
| EBITDA ($USD Millions) | 109.1* | 102.9* | 88.1* |
| Net Income ($USD Millions) | — | — | 61.0 (PvP table) |
| Adjusted Operating Income ($USD Millions) | — | — | 80.5 (PvP table) |
*Values retrieved from S&P Global.
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance linkage is explicit: 2024 annual bonus weighting places 70% on financials (AOI 55%, Net Sales 15%) with the remainder on operational/customer/merchandising/human capital/strategy, and Hughes achieved a 63.1% eligible payout rate, with $147,667 paid for 2024 .
- Retention risk mitigated by substantial unvested equity: multiple tranches of PSUs tied to AOI growth through 2026 and time-based RSUs including a 13,899-unit special grant in August 2024; options vest ratably; no option exercises in 2024—reduces near-term selling pressure .
- Alignment considerations: beneficial ownership is minimal (<1%); stock ownership guidelines require 1x salary for non-CEO executives (five-year phase-in), but anti-hedging/anti-pledging policy is absent per proxy, potentially a governance red flag if pledging were to occur (no pledging disclosed for Hughes) .
- Change-in-control economics are modest in cash (six months’ salary) but feature accelerated vesting of equity at target for recent PSUs, which could create event-driven exposure; estimated CIC-related termination value ~$1.13mm as of 12/31/2024 .
- Performance backdrop: revenue growth continued in FY 2024 while EBITDA compressed*, aligning with 2024 AOI and net sales targets used in incentive design; monitoring AOI trajectory and TSR is key to forward payout outcomes .
*Values retrieved from S&P Global.