Monday.com Proposes Doubling Founders' Salaries Despite Recent Layoffs and Stock Decline

Monday.com, the software company, is set to hold a shareholder vote this Thursday on a proposal to double the salaries of its two co-founders and CEOs, Roy Man and Eran Zinman. The proposed new salary for each is approximately $14 million, up from $7.2 million since 2021. The company justifies the raise by highlighting its strong financial performance since its 2021 IPO, with revenues soaring from $308 million to $1.2 billion, placing it in the top percentile among comparable software firms. However, Monday.com's stock has dropped 40% this year, currently valued at $3.8 billion, half its IPO valuation.

The timing of the salary increase has drawn scrutiny, especially as the company recently announced layoffs of 620 employees due to market uncertainties and competitive threats from AI-driven enterprise operating systems. The raise includes a 19% increase in monthly base salary by 2027, with further incremental raises through 2029, and an unchanged annual bonus structure that can reach up to 200% of the annual salary based on performance targets.

Significant changes are proposed to equity compensation, with annual stock grants increasing to $13.65 million by 2029 and a shift in the grant structure to 60% performance-based and 40% time-based, compared to the current 70%-30% split. This adjustment aims to align with industry norms while maintaining a higher performance-based component. Roy Man holds 11.5% of Monday.com shares, and Eran Zinman owns 4.1%. The board includes representatives from major investors Insight Partners and Entrée Capital, as well as Wix CEO Avishai Abrahami as an independent director.