Executive Compensation at the National Retail Federation (2024)

The National Retail Federation (NRF) is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501 (c) (6) – a membership based trade association  – whose mission is to “advance and protect the interests of the retail industry and to help retailers achieve excellence in all areas of their business.” That’s quite a mission, given the retail environment in this country.  Retailers – both national chains and local – view an on-line presence a virtual requirement for survival.

Governed by 31 board members, 30 of whom are independent although 33 are listed on the most recent Form 990 (2024) due to timing differences;  25 of the 33 (76%) are male while 8 of the 33 (24%) are female, NRF is based in Washington, DC.

Often referred to as the “voice of retail,” the NRF raises $60-$75 million annually, most of which comes from conferences and events (about 80%) followed by membership dues (about $13%), and is often referred to as the largest retail trade association with an estimated 17,000 members.

Annual membership dues vary based on the total annual sales of the member and can range from the hundreds to thousands.  $10 million in membership dues divided by 17,000 members equals an average of $600.

In 2024, total revenue reported was $75 million whose sources include:

• $60 million:  Conferences and Events
• $10  million:  Memberships Dues
• $ 2  million:  Special Projects and Member Programs
• $ 3 million:  Investment Income and Royalties

Expenses totaled $76 million with expenses categorized as follows:

• $30 million:  Compensation
• $ 9 million:  Fees for Services – primarily other with no specific detail provided, legal, and lobbying
• $10  million:  Office-Related Expenses
• $24 million:  Travel and Conferences
• $ 1 million:  Advertising and Promotion
• $ 2 million:  Other Expenses

As listed above, compensation is the largest expense.  125 employees received $30 million in compensation which equates to an average compensation of $240,000.  However, only 72 employees received more than $100,000 in compensation with the 7 most highly compensated reported to be:

• $8,395,435:  Matthew R Shay, President and CEO
• $1,212,825:  David French, SVP, Gov’t Relations
• $1,041,364:  Stephanie Martz, General Counsel
• $  474,514:  Martine Reardon, EVP, Chief Marketing Officer
• $  889,620:  William Thorne, SVP, Public Relations
• $  695,486:  Susan Newman, SVP, Conferences
• $  639,033:  Artemis Sakell, Senior Director, Exhibits and Sponsors

The 7 most highly compensated employees received $13 million in compensation in 2024, or in other words 6% of the employees received 43% of total compensation.  If total compensation were adjusted to exclude the 7 most highly compensated employees, then 118 employees were compensated $17 million, which equates to an average compensation of $144,000 (however, only 65 of the 118 employees received more than $100,000).

The President and CEO, Matthew R Shay received more than $8 million in compensation in 2024 to oversee a relatively small non-profit whose primary source of income is conventions. It is also interesting to note, Mr. Shay received $46 million in compensation from 2016-2024 and the 7 most highly compensated employees received $80 million in compensation from 2016-2024:

Matthew Shay:  Total Compensation 2016-2024:  $46 million

• 2024:  $8,395,435
• 2023:  $5,618,632 
• 2022:  $5,334,620
• 2021:  $6,841,643   
• 2020:  $4,568,268 
• 2019:  $4,445,852  
• 2018:  $4,254,725  
• 2017:  $3,436,437 
• 2016:  $3,344,126  

David French:  Total Compensation 2016-2024:  $9 million

• 2024:  $1,212,825
• 2023:  $1,136,480:
• 2022:  $1,089,246:
• 2021:  $1,023,477
• 2020:  $  866,962
• 2019:  $  863,831
• 2018:  $  834,375
• 2017:  $  769,077
• 2016:  $  652,765

Stephanie Martz:  Total Compensation 2018-2024:  $6 million

• 2024:  $1,041,634
• 2023:  $  985,223
• 2022:  $  921,949
• 2021:  $  795,267
• 2020:  $  649,904
• 2019:  $  654,742
• 2018:  $  585,322

Martine Reardon:  Total Compensation 2021-2024:  $3 million

• 2024:  $474,514
• 2023:  $886,598
• 2022:  $827,501
• 2021:  $361,075

William Thorne:  Total Compensation 2016-2024:  $7 million

• 2024:  $889,620
• 2023:  $816,566
• 2022:  $787,577
• 2021:  $752,839
• 2020:  $663,196
• 2019:  $629,163
• 2018:  $624,221
• 2017:  $608,174
• 2016:  $566,534

Susan Newman:  Total Compensation 2016-2024:  $5 million

• 2024:  $695,486
• 2023:  $652,129
• 2022:  $626,818
• 2021:  $514,026
• 2020:  $524,648
• 2019:  $543,646
• 2018:  $541,157
• 2017:  $507,362
• 2016:  $500,039

Artemis Sakell:  Total Compensation 2016-2024:  $4 million

• 2024:  $639,033
• 2023:  $540,647
• 2022:  $394,763
• 2021:  $424,202
• 2020:  $466,971
• 2019:  $488,896
• 2018:  $442,940
• 2017:  $439,833
• 2016:  $404,998

The NRF paid for first class or charter travel. Specifically, the NRF paid for first class travel for NRF employees for overseas travel.

The NRF paid for companion travel. Specifically, the NRF paid for companion travel for the CEO’s spouse.

The NRF paid for health or social club dues or initiation fees. Specifically, the NRF paid for monthly club dues for one employee (not stated who) for business purposes.

The CEO – Mathew Shay – participates in a supplemental non-qualified retirement plan. Payments to the plan consist of NRF contributions – $600,000 in 2020, $700,000 in 2021, $800,000 in 2022, $800,000 in 2023 and $900,000 in 2024.

54 independent contractors received more than $100,000 in compensation. The five most highly compensated were reported to be:

• $2,105,690:  RDA Co, of Hun Valley, MD for software development and implementation
• $  999,379:  The Gate Worldwide, of NY, NY for event promotion
• $  662,689:  Piper Companies, of Mclean, VA for staffing services
• $  654,524:  Tusk Strategies, of NY, NY for event innovation strategy
• $  541,373:  The Expo Group, of Irving TX for event production support

In closing, the NRF is a small trade association that primarily relies on trade shows/conventions for most revenue although membership dues provide about 13% of revenue.  Most revenue is spent on compensation (including more than $8 million to the CEO and $5 million to the next 6 most highly compensated employees in 2024), travel, conferences, and fees for outside services.  Since 2016, these 7 employees have received $80 million in compensation.

At year-end 2024, the NRF had $17 million in net assets (up from $16 million at the beginning of the year).

To read the IRS Form 990 (2024 for the year ending Feb 28, 2025), click here.