6. Compensation for the financial year
The tables in this section are audited by the external auditor.
The following table shows the compensation for the individual Board members for the 2025/26 financial year (8 members from the 2025/26 AGM) and for the 2024/25 financial year (10 members). The total compensation in the 2025/26 financial year was CHF 2.8 million (2024/25: CHF 3.3 million).
Board of Directorsʼ compensation for the Financial Year
in CHF | 2025/26 | |||||||||
Cash retainer (fixed fee) | Total cash compensation | Grant value of restricted shares | Total compensation | Employer's social insurance contribution (AHV/ALV) 1 | ||||||
Gilbert Achermann 2 Board Chair/TIC Chair (since AGM 2025) | 365,833 | 365,833 | 369,914 | 735,747 | 45,510 | |||||
Robert F. Spoerry Board Chair (until AGM 2025) | 83,611 | 84,231 | 84,231 | 4,527 | ||||||
Stacy Enxing Seng Board Vice-Chair and NCC member (until AGM 2025) | 26,250 | 26,250 | 26,250 | 1,992 | ||||||
Gregory Behar NCC/TIC member | 128,056 | 128,056 | 159,894 | 287,950 | 18,646 | |||||
Lukas Braunschweiler NCC member (until AGM 2025) | 23,333 | 23,333 | 23,333 | 1,514 | ||||||
Roland Diggelmann NCC Chair | 140,000 | 140,000 | 159,894 | 299,894 | 19,421 | |||||
Lynn Dorsey Bleil AC/TIC member | 128,056 | 128,056 | 159,894 | 287,950 | 18,646 | |||||
Laura Stoltenberg TIC member (since AGM 2025) | 88,611 | 88,611 | 159,894 | 248,505 | 15,816 | |||||
Julie Tay NCC member | 120,000 | 120,000 | 159,894 | 279,894 | 18,088 | |||||
Ronald van der Vis AC member | 120,000 | 120,000 | 159,894 | 279,894 | 18,124 | |||||
Adrian Widmer AC Chair | 140,000 | 140,000 | 159,894 | 299,894 | 19,421 | |||||
Total | 1,363,750 | 1,364,370 | 1,489,172 | 2,853,542 | 181,705 | |||||
The compensation shown in the table above is gross and based on the accrual principle.
AC = Audit Committee; NCC = Nomination and Compensation Committee; TIC = Technology and Innovation Committee.
1Employer social security contributions on cash retainer. Restricted shares granted during the financial year.
2The Chairman of the Board also chairs the TIC. No separate or additional fees were provided for this function.
in CHF | 2024/25 | |||||||||
Cash retainer (fixed fee) | Total cash compensation | Grant value of restricted shares | Total compensation | Employer's social insurance contribution (AHV/ALV)1 | ||||||
Robert F. Spoerry 2 Board Chair | 430,000 | 430,000 | 369,953 | 799,953 | 44,588 | |||||
Stacy Enxing Seng3 Board Vice-Chair and NCC member | 135,000 | 135,000 | 159,919 | 294,919 | 18,448 | |||||
Gregory Behar AC member | 120,000 | 120,000 | 159,919 | 279,919 | 17,475 | |||||
Lynn Dorsey Bleil AC member | 120,000 | 120,000 | 159,919 | 279,919 | 17,475 | |||||
Lukas Braunschweiler NCC member | 120,000 | 120,000 | 159,919 | 279,919 | 348,913 | |||||
Roland Diggelmann NCC Chair | 140,000 | 140,000 | 159,919 | 299,919 | 18,773 | |||||
Julie Tay NCC member | 120,000 | 120,000 | 159,919 | 279,919 | 17,204 | |||||
Ronald van der Vis AC member | 120,000 | 120,000 | 159,919 | 279,919 | 17,475 | |||||
Adrian Widmer AC Chair | 140,000 | 140,000 | 159,919 | 299,919 | 18,773 | |||||
Gilbert Achermann Board member | 83,3333 | 83,3333 | 159,919 | 243,252 | 15,068 | |||||
Total | 1,528,333 | 1,528,333 | 1,809,224 | 3,337,557 | 534,192 | |||||
The compensation shown in the table above is gross and based on the accrual principle.
1Employer social security contributions on cash retainer, restricted shares granted during the financial year as well as stock options exercised during the financial year.
2Including NCC and AC work and attendance.
3Pro-rated for the period AGM 2024 to 31 March 2025.
6.1.1 Approved versus expected total compensation for the members of the Board of Directors
The total compensation paid to the full Board for the period from the 2025 AGM to the 2026 AGM is expected to be within the limits approved by the 2025 AGM.
Approved versus expected total compensation for the members of the Board of Directors
AGM approval year | 2024 | 2025 | ||||||
in CHF 1,000 | Approved for AGM 2024 - AGM 2025 | Effective for AGM 2024 - AGM 2025 | Approved for AGM 2025 - AGM 2026 | Expected for AGM 2025 - AGM 2026 | ||||
Total compensation | 3,500 | 3,194 | 3,050 | 2,809 | ||||
Breakdown total compensation: | ||||||||
Fixed fees including expenses | 1,610 | 1,545 | 1,480 | 1,320 | ||||
Grant value of restricted shares | 1,890 | 1,649 | 1,570 | 1,489 | ||||
Number of members of the Board of Directors | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | ||||
6.1.2 Other compensation, loans, and credit for current and former members of the Board of Directors and related parties
Additional compensation: No other compensation was paid to current or former Board members for services beyond the total compensation disclosed above.
Related party payments: No payments were made to individuals closely related to any current or former Board members during the reporting year.
Loans and credit: Neither Sonova nor any Group company granted loans to current or former Board members in the 2025/26 financial year, and no such loans were outstanding as of 31 March, 2026. Similarly, no loans were granted to related parties of current or former Board members.
6.1.3 Outside mandates
As of 31 March 2026, the Board members held the following mandates outside Sonova:
2025/26 | ||||||||
Listed companies | Function | Other mandates | Function | |||||
Gilbert Achermann | Ypsomed Group | Board Chair | Unilabs Group | Board Chair | ||||
Greenteg | Board member | |||||||
IMD Lausanne | Supervisory Board of IMD member | |||||||
Swiss Medtech Association | Member of the Management Board and Vice President | |||||||
Gregory Behar | n.a. | n.a. | Recipharm AB | CEO | ||||
Amazentis SA | Board member | |||||||
New Biologix | Board member | |||||||
Lynn Dorsey Bleil | Alcon Inc. | Board member | Intermountain Healthcare Wasatch Back Hospitals Community Board | Board Chair | ||||
Amicus Therapeutics Inc. | Board member | |||||||
Roland Diggelmann | Mettler Toledo International Inc. | Board Chair | Berlin Heals AG | Board member | ||||
HeartForce AG | Board member | |||||||
Navignostics AG | Board member | |||||||
Osler Diagnostics Ltd. | Board member | |||||||
Laura Stoltenberg | n.a. | n.a. | Cryosa | President and CEO | ||||
Julie Tay | EBOS Group Ltd. | Board member | n.a. | n.a. | ||||
Ronald van der Vis | n.a. | n.a. | Industry Advisor | Operating Partner, Co-Investor | ||||
European Dental Group | Supervisory Board Chair | |||||||
Equipe Zorgbedrijven | Supervisory Board Chair | |||||||
HEMA BV | Supervisory Board Chair | |||||||
Adrian Widmer | Sika AG | Group CFO | n.a. | n.a. |
2024/25 | ||||||||
Listed companies | Function | Other mandates | Function | |||||
Robert F. Spoerry | Bystronic Holding AG | Member of the Board of Directors | n.a. | n.a. | ||||
Stacy Enxing Seng | LivaNova Inc. | Member of the Board of Directors | Cala Health | Chair of the Board of Directors | ||||
Contego Inc. | Executive Chair of the Board of Directors | |||||||
Corza Inc. | Member of the Board of Directors | |||||||
Imperative Care | Member of the Board of Directors | |||||||
Lightstone Ventures | Operating Partner | |||||||
Gregory Behar | n.a. | n.a. | Recipharm AB | CEO | ||||
Amazentis SA | Member of the Board of Directors | |||||||
New Biologix | Member of the Board of Directors | |||||||
Lynn Dorsey Bleil | Alcon Inc. | Member of the Board of Directors | Intermountain Healthcare Wasatch Back Hospitals Community Board | Chair | ||||
Amicus Therapeutics Inc. | Member of the Board of Directors | |||||||
Lukas Braunschweiler | Tecan Group AG | Chair of the Board of Directors | n.a. | n.a. | ||||
Roland Diggelmann | Mettler Toledo International Inc. | Chair of the Board of Directors | Berlin Heals AG | Member of the Board of Directors | ||||
HeartForce AG | Member of the Board of Directors | |||||||
Navignostics AG | Member of the Board of Directors | |||||||
Osler Diagnostics Ltd. | Member of the Board of Directors | |||||||
Julie Tay | EBOS Group Ltd. | Member of the Board of Directors | n.a. | n.a. | ||||
Ronald van der Vis | n.a. | n.a. | Industry Advisor | Operating Partner, Co-Investor | ||||
European Dental Group | Chair of the Supervisory Board | |||||||
Equipe Zorgbedrijven | Chair of the Supervisory Board | |||||||
United Veterinary Care | Chair of the Supervisory Board | |||||||
HEMA BV | Member of the Supervisory Board | |||||||
Adrian Widmer | Sika AG | Group CFO | n.a. | n.a. | ||||
Gilbert Achermann | Ypsomed Group | Member of the Board of Directors | Unilabs Group | Chair of the Board of Directors | ||||
Greentech | Member of the Board of Directors | |||||||
IMD Lausanne | Vice Chair of the Supervisory Board | |||||||
SwissMedtech Association | Vice Chair |
6.2.1 Compensation awarded for the 2025/26 financial year
As noted earlier, Sonovaʼs basic principle is to adjust fixed or target variable compensation for Group Executives only when necessary and appropriate. Changes may be differentiated based on material increases in role responsibilities. Any adjustments are benchmarked against executive compensation surveys and published data from similarly sized companies.
Highest compensated executive: The highest total compensation for a Group Executive in the 2025/26 financial year was for Eric Bernard, CEO.
The following tables detail compensation for 8 Group Executives in the 2025/26 financial year and 8 Group Executives in the 2024/25 financial year, both including the CEO.
Group Executivesʼ compensation for the Financial Year (audited by external auditors)
in CHF | 2025/26 | |||||||||||||||||
Fixed base salary | Variable compensation 1 | Fringe benefits | Employer's pension contribution | Total cash compen- sation | Value of PSUs 2 | Value of options 3 | Total compensation | Employer's social security contribution | ||||||||||
Eric Bernard, CEO4 | 750,000 | 657,246 | 56,999 | 90,826 | 1,555,071 | 393,750 | 656,250 | 2,605,071 | 55,040 | |||||||||
Other Group Executives5 | 3,435,360 | 1,684,540 | 231,578 | 512,795 | 5,864,273 | - | - | 5,864,273 | 346,128 | |||||||||
Total | 4,185,360 | 2,341,785 | 288,577 | 603,621 | 7,419,343 | 393,750 | 656,250 | 8,469,343 | 401,168 | |||||||||
The compensation shown in the table above is gross and based on the accrual principle.
1The variable compensation will be paid out only when the Group’s audited financial statements for the financial year have been publicly disclosed by the Group in its consolidated financial statements.
2Fair value per performance share unit (PSU) at grant date: CHF 255.59. The settlement will be determined based on the actual performance achievement prior to the vesting, and the PSUs are blocked after vesting to arrive at the total mandatory restriction period of five years from the grant date.
3Fair value per option at grant date is provided by a third party based on the "Enhanced American Pricing Model” (including the impact of the restriction period based on a “Black-Scholes Model”) of CHF 52.54. The options are blocked after vesting to arrive at the total mandatory restriction period of five years.
4The disclosed compensation for the CEO reflects the total remuneration awarded during the financial year. Prior to his appointment as CEO on September 15 2025, he served as a Group Executive. Annual salary for the CEO is set at CHF 1,000,000.
5The former CEO served in the role until 15 September 2025 and remained employed until 30 September 2025. His compensation for the financial year is included in “Other members.”
in CHF | 2024/25 | |||||||||||||||||
Fixed base salary | Variable compensation 1 | Fringe benefits | Employer's pension contribution | Total cash compen- sation | Value of PSUs 2 | Value of options 3 | Total compensation | Employer's social security contribution | ||||||||||
Arnd Kaldowski, CEO | 921,750 | 666,799 | 54,308 | 107,340 | 1,750,197 | 813,750 | 1,356,250 | 3,920,197 | 163,341 | |||||||||
Other Group Executives | 3,480,631 | 1,649,711 | 259,168 | 459,453 | 5,848,963 | 1,284,000 | 1,284,000 | 8,416,963 | 563,430 | |||||||||
Total | 4,402,381 | 2,316,510 | 313,476 | 566,793 | 7,599,160 | 2,097,750 | 2,640,250 | 12,337,160 | 726,771 | |||||||||
The compensation shown in the table above is gross and based on the accrual principle.
1The variable compensation will be paid out only when the Group’s audited financial statements for the financial year have been publicly disclosed by the Group in its consolidated financial statements.
2Fair value per PSU at grant date CHF 346.86. Fair Value of PSUs provided by a third party based on the Monte Carlo pricing model; this is an appropriately balanced approach, taking account of the possibility of either over- or under-achievement. The settlement will be determined based on actual performance achievement prior to the vesting in June 2028 and the PSUs are blocked after vesting to arrive at the total mandatory restriction period of five years from grant date.
3Fair value per option at grant date provided by a third party based on the "Enhanced American Pricing Model” (including the impact of the restriction period based on a “Black-Scholes Model”) of CHF 80.88. The options are blocked after vesting to arrive at the total mandatory restriction period of five years.
Explanatory comments to the compensation tables
The total compensation of CHF 8.469 million for the 2025/26 financial year is below the total of CHF 12.337 million for the previous year. A key contributing factor of the decrease here is the deferral of the EEAP award from 1 February 2026 to 1 June 2026 for the majority of Group Executives.
VCC performance outcomes 2025/26
The system of the VCC is outlined in more detail in section 5.2 of this Compensation Report. The following table shows the targets for both the Group and ESG objectives, together with the actual achievements and payout percentage ranges for the VCC for the 2025/26 financial year. Payout percentage ranges for Business objectives are also included for additional transparency.
Overall, sales attainment was 98.7% of target, with momentum maintained throughout the year. Hearing Instruments (Wholesale and Retail) growth accelerated in the second half, aided by product launches and disciplined execution against a tougher prior-year base. EBITA stood at 94.2% of target, driven by stronger local-currency growth and improved operations. EPS reached 100.9% of target, and operating free cash flow was 100.4%. These results align with our pay-for-performance framework and helped inform incentive payouts under the current plan.
ESG Targets
The next table details group and individual ESG targets, and achievements for Group Executives in the 2025/26 financial year.
For the CEO, the achievement of ESG objectives (group and individual) ranged between 0% and 176.6%, resulting in a payout of 45.26% for this dimension.
The Board had set a number of strategic priorities for the CEO in his first year including resetting the Sonova Group strategy, defining and implementing a new business target operating model, evolving the Sonova culture with the focus on key attributes enabling the Groupʼs growth, reshaping the composition of the Executive Committee and supporting the redesign of the Executive Committee compensation framework. The Board was very satisfied with the progress achieved and the outcome of all of the strategic priorities. Based on this assessment, the CEO was awarded a payout of 200% for his individual qualitative objectives for 2025/26.
The overall payout for the 2025/26 financial year for the CEO was 109.44% (2024/25: 80.9%), and between 47.8% and 100.2% for the other Group Executives (2024/25: 63.5% – 88.5%).
6.2.2 Historical variable cash compensation for the Group Executives over the last five years
6.2.3 Approved versus actual total compensation for Group Executives
Compliance with shareholder limits: Actual Group Executivesʼ compensation for the 2025/26 financial year was CHF 8.469 million, below the maximum aggregate compensation amount of CHF 16.8 million approved at the 2024 AGM.
EEAP valuation methodology: EEAP compensation is approved and reported at fair value at grant, based on 100% target achievement. This balanced approach reflects the possibility of either over- or under-achievement for PSUs. The actual number of shares allocated per PSU depends on achievement of pre-determined performance conditions and ranges from 0 to 2 shares. Actual achievement will be disclosed when the awards vest.
Additional information to support the shareholder votes on compensation can be found in the invitation to the 2026 AGM.
6.2.4 Executive Equity Award Plan performance outcomes 2025/26
Performance Options
The vesting of performance options is subject to a pre-defined ROCE target. In the 2025/26 financial year, the ROCE target was exceeded for the option tranches awarded in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Since there is no provision for over-achievement in the EEAP, the vesting of the options is capped at target, namely at 100%. The ROCE target for the option tranche awarded in 2022 was not fully met and the vesting level was 96.5%.
Any unplanned acquisition which took place after the respective grant(s), together with major foreign exchange rate movements not anticipated in the ROCE target setting at the time of grant, are neutralized in the measurement.
Performance Share Units (PSU)
PSUs vest based on relative Total Shareholder Return (TSR) measured against a pre-defined peer group. The number of shares allocated for each vested PSU is within a range of 0% to 200% and calculated based on linear interpolation between the 20th and 80th percentile rank relative to the peer group.
The actual TSR was -16.85%, which corresponds to a 13.8% percentile rank relative to the peer group, and results in a 0% vesting in June 2026. For the PSUs awarded under the 2022 EEAP vesting in June 2025, the actual TSR was -11.75%, which corresponded to a 35.29% percentile rank relative to the peer group and resulted in a 50.96% vesting.
The following table is not audited by the external auditors.
6.2.5 Other compensation, loans, and credits for current and former Group Executives and related parties
Additional compensation: No other compensation was paid to current or former Group Executives for services beyond the total compensation disclosed previously.
Related party payments: No payments were made to individuals closely related to any current or former Group Executives during the reporting year.
Loans and credit: Neither Sonova nor any Group company granted loans to current or former Group Executives in the 2025/26 financial year, and no such loans were outstanding as of March 31, 2026. Similarly, no loans were granted to related parties of current or former Group Executives.
6.2.6 Outside mandates (audited by external auditors)
As of March 31, 2026, Group Executives held the following mandates outside Sonova:
2025/26 | ||||||||
Listed companies | Function | Other mandates | Function | |||||
Eric Bernard | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | ||||
Lilika Beck | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | ||||
Elodie Carr-Cingari | Siegfried Holding AG | Board member, Audit Committee Chair | n.a. | n.a. | ||||
Roberto di Fiore | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | ||||
Katya Kruglova | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | ||||
Oliver Lux | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | ||||
Anders Rosengren | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | ||||
Alistair Simpson | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
2024/25 | ||||||||
Listed companies | Function | Other mandates | Function | |||||
Arnd Kaldowski | n.a. | n.a. | European Hearing Instrument Manufacturers Association (EHIMA) | President | ||||
Ludger Althoff | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | ||||
Lilika Beck | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | ||||
Oliver Lux | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | ||||
Alistair Simpson | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | ||||
Katya Kruglova | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | ||||
Robert Woolley | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |