What CFO pay packages show about long-term strategy

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Good morning. Executive compensation packages are being increasingly redesigned around clear, quantifiable performance goals, which at times include stock price increases.

Consider Christy Schwartz, who assumed the role of Opendoor’s CFO on January 1, following her tenure as interim CFO, chief accounting officer, and VP of corporate control. Her initial base salary stands at $1.2 million through May 15, after which it decreases to $500,000 per year, along with a $100,000 sign-on bonus.

But the more significant aspect lies in her long-term incentives. Schwartz was granted approximately 1.7 million performance-based stock units, which will only vest if Opendoor’s stock reaches $9, $13, $17, $21, $25, $29, or $33 over a 30-day period between April 2026 and October 2030, as per . This directly links a significant portion of her pay to the company’s stock performance over multiple years—a clear indication of a broader shift toward performance-based compensation across leadership.

Riot bets on AI

Riot Platforms is adopting a comparable approach, though with an emphasis on its transforming business model—evolving from a dedicated bitcoin miner to a more comprehensive power-and-infrastructure company centered on AI and high-performance computing data centers. An update to its compensation program was revealed alongside the company’s January 2 announcement of Jason Chung’s promotion to CFO, effective March 1.

Riot has adjusted its 2026 compensation program to better align with the company’s strategic priorities, moving away from bitcoin-focused pay. SEC states that once Riot secures a data center tenant, executive incentives will center on revenue and net operating income related to those operations. Specifically, “Data Center Revenue” and “Data Center NOI” will each make up 15% of the annual incentive plan, with payouts ranging from 0% to 200% based on outcomes. Concurrently, the adjusted EBITDA metric will be reduced to a 25% weighting. Riot did not respond to a request for comment.

In conjunction with his promotion, Chung’s annual base salary has increased from $500,000 to $550,000. Meanwhile, CEO Jason Les and Executive Chairman Benjamin Yi will have their base salaries raised from $600,000 to $900,000, phasing out the portion previously paid in bitcoin. Their target bonus opportunities under the annual incentive plan have also grown from 100% to 125% of base salary, and their employment agreements have been extended through January 10, 2031.

Shawn Cole, president and founding partner of executive search firm Cowen Partners, told me that the increase in Les’s base salary “acts as a safeguard against fluctuations in incentive compensation, especially if performance-based payouts are lower or less predictable.”

Aligning executive incentives with company performance and long-term shareholder value can be an effective strategy, Cole noted. However, he warned that it may also lead to unintended outcomes in certain situations. These structures can encourage risk aversion when missing targets results in immediate negative consequences, while potential rewards are delayed or capped, he added. This is particularly pertinent in emerging sectors like AI, where strategic investments are becoming crucial for sustainable growth, yet accurately estimating the time it will take for these investments to yield financial returns is difficult.
 
As Opendoor, Riot, and other companies adjust executive compensation, the trend of linking pay to long-term performance remains evident.

Sheryl Estrada