ALBANY INTERNATIONAL CORP CLASS A (AIN)
Sector: Industrials
2026 Annual Meeting Analysis
ALBANY INTERNATIONAL CORP CLASS A · Meeting: May 15, 2026
Directors FOR
2
Directors AGAINST
6
Say on Pay
AGAINST
Auditor
FOR
Director Elections
Election of Directors
Against Analysis
Mr. Scannell has served since 2012 and bears full accountability for AIN's severe underperformance: the stock fell roughly 38% over three years while the company's own compensation peer group gained about 113% on average — a gap of more than 150 percentage points, far exceeding the 20-point trigger threshold, and the five-year record provides no relief as that gap also exceeds the threshold.
Ms. Plourde has served since 2013 and bears full accountability for AIN's severe underperformance: the stock fell roughly 38% over three years while the company's own compensation peer group gained about 113% on average — a gap of more than 150 percentage points, far exceeding the 20-point trigger threshold, and the five-year record provides no relief.
Mr. Krueger has served since 2016 and bears full accountability for AIN's severe underperformance: the stock fell roughly 38% over three years while the company's own compensation peer group gained about 113% on average — a gap of more than 150 percentage points, far exceeding the 20-point trigger threshold, and the five-year record provides no relief.
Dr. McQuade has served since 2020 and his full tenure overlaps with AIN's severe underperformance: the stock fell roughly 38% over three years while the company's own compensation peer group gained about 113% on average — a gap of more than 150 percentage points, far exceeding the 20-point trigger threshold, and the five-year record provides no relief.
Ms. Alvord joined in 2022 — more than 24 months ago — so the new-director exemption does not apply, and her tenure covers the majority of the three-year underperformance period during which AIN's stock fell roughly 38% while peers gained about 113%, a gap of more than 150 percentage points that far exceeds the 20-point trigger threshold.
Mr. Toney joined in 2022 — more than 24 months ago — so the new-director exemption does not apply, and his tenure covers the majority of the three-year underperformance period during which AIN's stock fell roughly 38% while peers gained about 113%, a gap of more than 150 percentage points that far exceeds the 20-point trigger threshold.
For Analysis
Mr. Kleveland joined the board in September 2023 as President and CEO, which is within the 24-month window that exempts new directors from the stock performance trigger, so no TSR-based objection applies to him as a director at this time.
Ms. Lind joined the board in 2024, which is within the 24-month window that exempts new directors from the stock performance trigger, so no TSR-based objection applies to her at this time.
Six of eight directors — Scannell, Plourde, Krueger, McQuade, Alvord, and Toney — warrant AGAINST votes because AIN's stock has lost roughly 38% over three years while the company's own disclosed compensation peer group gained about 113% on average, a gap of more than 150 percentage points that far exceeds the 20-point threshold for companies with negative absolute returns; the five-year record provides no relief. The two newest directors — CEO Kleveland (joined September 2023) and Lind (joined 2024) — fall within the 24-month new-director exemption and receive FOR votes.
Say on Pay
✗ AGAINSTCEO
Gunnar Kleveland
Total Comp
$4,259,285
Prior Support
94.74%%
The CEO's total pay of approximately $4.26 million is not excessive on a standalone basis, and the prior say-on-pay vote received strong support at nearly 95%, which is a positive signal. However, the pay-for-performance alignment check triggers a negative vote: AIN's stock fell roughly 38% over three years while the company's own compensation peer group gained about 113% on average — shareholders lost significant value while executives received above-benchmark incentive payouts — meaning the incentive compensation program failed to align executive outcomes with shareholder experience. The positive change in 2025 to include relative total shareholder return as one-third of the long-term performance stock metric is noted but insufficient to overcome the severity of the misalignment observed in the completed performance period.
Auditor Ratification
✓ FORAuditor
KPMG LLP
Tenure
N/A
Audit Fees
$3,818,000
Non-Audit Fees
$413,668
Non-audit fees (audit-related fees of $319,167 plus tax fees of $94,501, totaling approximately $413,668) represent about 10.8% of core audit fees of $3,818,000, well below the 50% threshold that would raise independence concerns; KPMG is a Big 4 firm appropriate for a company of AIN's size, and no material restatements were identified, so ratification is supported.
Overall Assessment
AIN's 2026 annual meeting presents a ballot where six of eight director nominees warrant AGAINST votes due to catastrophic stock underperformance — AIN shares lost roughly 38% over three years while the company's own peer group gained about 113%, a gap exceeding 150 percentage points — and the Say on Pay vote also warrants a negative vote for the same pay-for-performance misalignment reason, despite a relatively modest CEO pay level; only the auditor ratification merits support, as KPMG's fees are well within acceptable bounds.
Compensation Peer Group
17 companies disclosed in 2026 proxy filing