Krispy Kreme top executive's compensation jumps 47% in 2025

The total 2025 compensation for Krispy Kreme Inc. president and chief executive Joshua Charlesworth rose 47.1% in his second year in both roles, the company reported Tuesday.

Charlesworth received $3.69 million, compared with $2.51 million in fiscal 2024.

He was paid $1 million in base salary, up from $999,039 in 2024. There was no incentive pay for the second consecutive year.

The sharpest difference in year-over-year total compensation for Charlesworth was $2.12 million in stock awards during fiscal 2025, compared with $1 million in fiscal 2024.

Krispy Kreme's provision of stock and stock-option awards have swung wildly over the past five fiscal years.

Stock- and stock-option awards are valued in the annual corporate proxy filings on the day they are awarded by the company.

Although federal regulators require corporations to declare the value annually, executives typically are required to wait a specified amount of time - often one to three years - to receive those shares or exercise the options.

The prevailing theory is that executives will be more inclined to be prudent with shareholder value, potentially taking less risk, if their own compensation is weighted primarily toward share-price performance.

Charlesworth also received $16,118 in all other compensation.

The CEO pay ratio for Charlesworth in 2024 was $111-to-$1 based on a median global employee compensation of $33,327.

Krispy Kreme reported a $515.8 million loss in fiscal 2025 that included an 8.5% decline in revenue to $1.52 billion.

The full-year performance was skewed in large part by Krispy Kreme taking a $432.4 million goodwill charge, of which $355.9 million was taken in the second quarter and an additional $20.5 million in the fourth quarter.

Investopedia defines goodwill as an intangible asset that's recorded when one company is purchased by another. Factors in assigning goodwill include: the value of the acquired company's name; brand reputation; loyal customer base; customer service reputation; employee relations reputation; and proprietary technology.

Raphael Duvivier, chief financial officer, received an 89.1% jump in total compensation to $2.81 million. Base salary rose 34.7% to $572,171.

Jeremiah Ashukian, former chief financial officer, received total compensation of $1.12 million and base salary of $362,500.

Theresa Zandhuis, former chief people officer, received total compensation of $2.12 million and base salary of $550,000.

Nicola Steele, chief operating officer, was listed for the first time. She received total compensation of $2.59 million, including $382,691 in base salary and $23,242 in incentive pay.

Alison Holder, chief brand and product officer, also was listed for the first time. She received total compensation of $2.18 million, including $408,173 in base salary.

Krispy Kreme will conduct its 2024 shareholders meeting virtually at 10 a.m. June 10.

There is one shareholder proposal on the agenda that requests that any voting requirement in corporate governing documents that calls for a greater than simple majority vote be replaced by a requirement for a majority of the votes cast for and against applicable proposals, or a simple majority in compliance with applicable laws.

The Krispy Kreme board of directors recommends against the proposal, saying "our supermajority voting requirements are limited to key corporate actions."

Those actions include: stockholder action by written consent; ability to call special meetings; advance notice provisions; board composition; and vacancies, and the vote required to amend those documents.

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This story was originally published April 29, 2026 at 5:42 AM.