Paige Robbins

About Paige Robbins

Paige K. Robbins, age 56, is Senior Vice President and President, Grainger Business Unit (GBU) since January 2021, after joining Grainger in 2010 and serving in senior roles across digital, merchandising, marketing, strategy, supply chain, branch network, and contact centers; previously Partner and Managing Director at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) . Company performance linked to her remit posted record FY2024 results: sales $17.2B (+4.7% daily, organic constant currency), adjusted ROIC 41.6%, diluted EPS +6.8% (adjusted +6.2%), with one-year TSR 28.2% and three-year TSR 109.8% . Grainger’s compensation framework ties annual incentives to daily sales growth and adjusted ROIC, and long-term PSUs to U.S. share gain, Endless Assortment daily sales growth, and adjusted operating margin .

Past Roles

Organization	Role	Years	Strategic Impact
W.W. Grainger	SVP & President, GBU	Jan 2021–present	Leads Grainger’s core High-Touch Solutions U.S. business
W.W. Grainger	SVP & Chief Technology, Merchandising, Marketing, Strategy Officer	Nov 2019–Dec 2020	Drove multi-function commercial and tech strategy
W.W. Grainger	SVP & Chief Merchandising, Marketing, Digital, Strategy Officer	May–Oct 2019	Integrated merchandising/marketing/digital/strategy
W.W. Grainger	SVP & Chief Digital Officer	Sep 2017–Apr 2019	Led digital platform/customer experience
W.W. Grainger	SVP, Global Supply Chain, Branch Network, Contact Centers & Corporate Strategy	Nov 2016–Aug 2017	Scaled supply chain and customer operations
W.W. Grainger	Various roles since joining	Sep 2010–2016	Progressively senior leadership posts

External Roles

Organization	Role	Years	Strategic Impact
Boston Consulting Group	Partner & Managing Director	Pre-2010	Advised industrial clients; strategy expertise carried into Grainger

Fixed Compensation

Metric	FY 2022	FY 2023	FY 2024
Base Salary ($)	$668,750	$693,836	$718,784
Annualized Base Salary ($, comp table; eff. 3/31/2024)	—	—	$725,000

Performance Compensation

Component	Design	Target	Actual/Payout	Vesting
2024 MIP (Cash)	Metrics: Total Co. daily, organic constant currency sales growth; Total Co. adjusted ROIC; ESG modifier ±10 pts	Target bonus 100% of base salary; Max 200% of target	Sales growth 4.5% → 45% payout; Adjusted ROIC 41.4% → 53% payout; ESG modifier 0%; Final MIP 97% of target	Annual cash payout following fiscal year
2024 PSU Grant	3 equally weighted metrics: U.S. share gain; Endless Assortment daily sales growth; Total Co. adjusted operating margin (constant currency)	1,055 target PSUs (0–200% possible)	2022–2024 PSU cycle achieved: U.S. share gain 465 bps; EA daily sales growth 14.2%; adjusted operating margin +119 bps; Payout 118% of target (cycle ended 12/31/2024)	3-year cliff vest contingent on performance
2024 RSU Grant	RSUs align to stock price performance	1,055 RSUs	N/A (time-based)	3-year graded vesting
LTIP Target Value ($)	$2,000,000 (2023 award)	—	—	—
LTIP Target Value ($)	—	—	$2,100,000 (2024 award)	—

Equity Ownership & Alignment

Metric	Value
Shares Beneficially Owned	13,069 shares; 0 options exercisable within 60 days; 4,379 stock units; <1% of class
Unvested RSUs (12/31/2024)	6,391 units; market value $6,736,434
Unearned PSUs (12/31/2024)	5,058 units; market/payout value $5,331,385
Stock Ownership Guidelines	3× base salary for NEOs; Robbins in compliance; must meet within 3 years; RSUs count; options/PSUs don’t count
Hedging/Pledging	Prohibited for officers/directors; no hedging/pledging reported
Clawback Policies	NYSE-compliant “no-fault” clawback for 3-year recoupment on restatements, plus expanded recoupment in equity award agreements for misconduct/compliance failures
Insider Selling Pressure (2024)	Options exercised: 16,512; value realized $13,128,412; shares vested: 3,542; value $3,603,277

Employment Terms

Scenario	Cash Payments ($)	RSUs – Unvested Accelerated ($)	PSUs – Unvested Accelerated ($)	Health & Welfare Continuation ($)	401(k) Continuation ($)	Outplacement ($)	Total ($)
Retirement	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Death	0	4,615,685	4,462,848	0	0	0	9,078,533
Disability	0	4,615,685	4,462,848	0	0	0	9,078,533
Involuntary Termination Without Cause	1,450,000	3,356,271	3,870,032	20,461	43,500	108,750	8,849,014
Change-in-Control Only	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Change-in-Control + Termination Without Cause or with Good Reason	3,074,000	4,615,685	4,462,848	41,016	0	108,750	12,302,299

Notes and mechanics:
- Annual bonus target is 100% of base; 2024 MIP paid at 97% of target .
- Involuntary termination benefits include 12 months of pay and continuation of certain benefits; change-in-control terms are double-trigger (no benefits on CIC-only; acceleration and enhanced cash on CIC+termination) .
- Health & welfare continuation values reflect Company budget/insured rates; outplacement capped at 15% of annual base salary .

Compensation Structure Observations

Mix and targets:
- Robbins’ annualized base salary set at $725,000 in 2024; target annual incentive at 100% of base; LTIP target increased to $2.1M in 2024, balancing RSUs (50%) and PSUs (50%) for NEOs .
Pay-for-performance:
- 2024 MIP payout moderately below target (97%) on softer sales growth (4.5%) and ROIC (41.4%), with ESG modifier at 0% .
- 2022–2024 PSU cycle paid 118% of target on strong share gain, EA growth, and margin expansion .
Peer benchmarking:
- Compensation comparator group updated in July 2024 (for FY2025 pay) to remove Avnet and add Cummins, Johnson Controls, and PACCAR; Tractor Supply added for FY2024 pay in place of Univar post-acquisition .

Performance Compensation (detailed metrics)

Metric	Weighting	Target calibration	Actual	Payout impact
Daily, Organic Constant Currency Sales (MIP, 2024)	N/A (metric-level payout curve)	11.3% growth = 100% payout; <0% = 0%	4.5%	45% component payout
Adjusted ROIC (MIP, 2024)	N/A (metric-level payout curve)	44.0% = 100% payout; <37.2% = 0%	41.4%	53% component payout
ESG Modifier (2024)	±10 points	Scope 1/2 emissions, diverse leadership	0%	No change
U.S. Share Gain (PSU, 2022–2024)	1/3	Relative share gain; constant currency	+465 bps	Contributed to 118% PSU payout
Endless Assortment Daily Sales Growth (PSU, 2022–2024)	1/3	Year-over-year growth (constant currency)	14.2%	Contributed to 118% PSU payout
Adjusted Operating Margin (PSU, 2022–2024)	1/3	Margin expansion (constant currency)	+119 bps (avg.)	Contributed to 118% PSU payout

Related Governance and Policies

Insider Trading Policy includes quarterly blackout windows, pre-clearance for Restricted Persons, prohibition on short sales, derivatives, hedging, and pledging/margin use; Rule 10b5‑1 plans permitted subject to policy .
Compensation Committee retains independent consultants; oversees CEO/NEO pay design, clawbacks, and human capital programs .

Investment Implications

Alignment: Significant unvested equity (RSUs/PSUs) and compliance with 3× salary ownership guidelines support alignment with shareholders; clawback and hedging/pledging prohibitions further strengthen governance .
Retention risk: Double-trigger CIC terms (no benefits on CIC-only; substantial cash and acceleration on CIC+termination) plus ongoing vesting schedules (RSUs graded; PSUs cliff) provide retention incentives while limiting single-trigger windfalls .
Trading signals: 2024 option exercises (16,512 shares; $13.13M realized) and equity vesting ($3.60M) indicate monetization activity; ongoing pre-clearance/blackout controls mitigate information-risk but vesting and historical option exercises can create periodic selling pressure around events .
Performance linkage: MIP and PSU outcomes directly tied to core growth and capital efficiency metrics (sales growth, ROIC, share gain, EA growth, margin), with recent cycle payout above target (118%) reflecting execution; 2024 MIP slightly below target (97%) suggests near-term moderation .

Appendix: 2022–2024 Summary Compensation

Metric	FY 2022	FY 2023	FY 2024
Salary ($)	1,726,159	2,000,793	2,123,526
Non-Equity Incentive Plan Comp. ($)	1,075,275	873,905	703,250
All Other Comp. ($)	94,714	110,883	100,775
Total ($)	3,564,898	3,679,417	3,646,335

(Note: Summary Compensation Table row headers reflect “Stock Awards” and totals; amounts presented are those reported for Ms. Robbins in the DEF 14A.)

Compensation Peer Group (context)

FY2024 pay calibration included Tractor Supply (added) and removed Univar (acquired) .
FY2025 pay calibration updated peer group by removing Avnet and adding Cummins, Johnson Controls, PACCAR to better align enterprise value and revenue medians .

Say-on-Pay & Shareholder Feedback

The company engages shareholders (>50% of outstanding shares in 2024) on executive compensation; Lead Director investor meetings continued in 2024 . (Say‑on‑pay voting percentages not disclosed in the cited sections.)