Monday Proposes Doubling Founders’ Salaries Despite Recent Layoffs and Stock Drop

Monday.com, the software company, is set to vote on Thursday on a proposal to double the salaries of its two founding CEOs, Roy Man and Eran Zinman, from $7.2 million to approximately $14 million each. The company justifies the raise by citing impressive growth since its 2021 IPO, with revenues soaring from $308 million to $1.2 billion, placing Monday.com in the top percentile among comparable software firms. However, the company’s current market value has dropped 50% since its IPO to $3.8 billion, and the stock has fallen 40% this year.

This salary increase proposal comes shortly after Monday.com announced layoffs of 620 employees due to market uncertainties and challenges posed by AI-driven competition in enterprise operating systems. The timing has raised concerns as the company faces an unclear future despite past successes. The CEOs’ compensation currently includes a base salary with 3% annual increases and fixed equity bonuses of $7 million each.

Under the new proposal, the monthly salary cap for each CEO would rise by 19% to 110,000 shekels in 2027, with further increases in 2028 and 2029. The annual bonus structure remains unchanged, allowing up to 100% of the annual salary as a target bonus and up to 200% for exceeding goals, contingent on performance criteria set by the compensation committee and board.

The key change involves equity compensation, which Monday.com plans to increase gradually to reach the median level of its peer group by 2028. Annual equity awards would be capped at $9.5 million in 2027, rising to $13.65 million by 2029. The company also proposes adjusting the equity award mix to 60% performance-based and 40% time-based, compared to the current 70%-30% split, aligning closer to industry norms but maintaining a higher performance component.

Roy Man holds 11.5% of Monday.com shares, while Eran Zinman owns 4.1%. The board includes Jeff Horing from Insight Partners, the largest shareholder, Avi Eyal from Entrée Capital, an early major investor, and Avishai Abrahami, Wix CEO, serving as an independent director.