WD-40’s Keith Stauffer Starts as Vice President of Global Finance Ahead of CFO Transition

Keith Stauffer began work at WD-40 Company on Monday as vice president, global finance, starting a transition period that is scheduled to put him in the chief financial officer role on November 2. Current CFO Sara Hyzer will remain in charge of finance through the handoff and is then set to become division president, Americas.

The timing gives Stauffer nearly two months inside the San Diego-based company before he takes the CFO title. WD-40 announced his appointment on September 3, but the first effective date was September 7, making Monday the start of his employment and the first step in a leadership change that the company had been preparing since June.

Stauffer joins before the CFO handoff

WD-40’s September 3 Form 8-K says Stauffer, 57, will serve as vice president, global finance until November 2, when he is scheduled to become CFO. Hyzer will continue as vice president, finance and CFO until that date and will remain in the finance chief role through the filing of WD-40’s annual report on Form 10-K for fiscal 2026.

The succession follows a broader leadership plan announced in June. At that time, WD-40 said Hyzer would move to lead the Americas division after a successor CFO was found. Patricia Olsem, the current Americas division president, is moving into the newly created chief strategy and innovation officer role, while Claudia Fenske is moving into the new chief brand and marketing officer position. Nicholas Giordano was also named vice president, corporate controller and chief accounting officer effective June 29, separating the principal accounting role from the CFO transition before Stauffer arrived.

Stauffer comes to WD-40 after serving as CFO, U.S. for Galderma from July 2025 through August 2026. Before Galderma, he was CFO of publicly traded TerrAscend from April 2020 to July 2025. His earlier finance posts included roles at Coty, Hershey, Dell Technologies and Procter & Gamble, giving him experience across consumer products, international operations and corporate finance. He holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and an MBA in finance from Purdue University.

Unlike several executives in the June succession plan, Stauffer is an external hire. Hyzer joined WD-40 in 2021 after more than two decades at PricewaterhouseCoopers and became CFO in November 2022. Her move to the Americas role also shifts an executive with accounting and reporting experience into the operating division that represented the largest share of WD-40’s most recent quarterly sales.

Pay package includes salary, equity and a sign-on bonus

WD-40 disclosed a $525,000 annual base salary for Stauffer, along with eligibility for the company’s annual Growth Reward Program. His target annual cash incentive is 60% of eligible earnings, with a maximum payout of up to 120% of eligible earnings under the program.

The equity package includes $500,000 of retention-based restricted stock units that vest annually over three years. WD-40 also plans two long-term performance awards, each valued at $250,000: market share units tied to total stockholder return and performance share units tied to a company financial metric. The performance periods run for three fiscal years, with the achievement determination scheduled for October 2029. A separate one-time $700,000 restricted-stock-unit grant is also expected to vest annually over three years.

Stauffer is also due a one-time cash sign-on bonus of about $543,000. The filing says that amount includes a tax gross-up designed to leave him with about $338,000 after taxes, matching the amount he must repay to his former employer for a previously paid retention bonus. WD-40 expects to pay the sign-on amount on September 25 unless Stauffer elects to defer it. If he resigns voluntarily or is terminated for cause before September 6, 2028, he would be required to repay a prorated portion, capped at $408,000.

Other disclosed benefits include a $19,800 annual vehicle allowance and estimated employer profit-sharing and matching contributions of $96,000 to the company’s Profit Sharing/401(k) Plan and Trust. The filing also states that Stauffer has no family relationship with a WD-40 director or executive officer and that, apart from his compensation arrangements, there are no related-party matters requiring disclosure under the cited SEC rule.

The transition begins as WD-40 closes fiscal 2026

Stauffer is arriving just after WD-40’s August 31 fiscal year-end and during a period of stronger reported sales and earnings growth. In its third-quarter fiscal 2026 results, the company reported net sales of $195.1 million for the three months ended May 31, up 24% from a year earlier. Operating income rose 47% to $40.3 million, while diluted earnings per share increased to $2.24 from $1.54.

For the first nine months of the fiscal year, net sales reached $511.2 million, up 12% from the comparable period. The Americas accounted for 52% of third-quarter sales and posted a 29% increase, while Europe, India, the Middle East and Africa rose 17% and Asia-Pacific increased 24%. Maintenance products, the company’s main strategic focus, generated 97% of quarterly net sales.

Management’s July outlook called for fiscal 2026 net sales of $652 million to $667 million excluding foreign-currency effects, or $675 million to $690 million on a reported basis using then-current exchange rates. WD-40 also projected non-GAAP operating income of $107 million to $113 million and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $6.05 to $6.35. Those figures were guidance rather than reported full-year results, and the company said inflation, foreign exchange and other factors could affect the outcome.

The finance team is also entering the handoff with a new $100 million share-repurchase authorization that became effective September 1. WD-40 said purchases under the program may be made depending on market conditions, applicable law and debt covenants, with no fixed expiration date. Decisions around reporting, capital allocation and the fiscal 2027 planning cycle will therefore overlap with Stauffer’s transition into the CFO seat.

The next scheduled milestones are already defined. Stauffer’s sign-on payment is expected on September 25 unless he defers it, Hyzer remains CFO through the fiscal 2026 Form 10-K filing, and the executive handoff is scheduled for November 2. On that date, Stauffer is set to become chief financial officer and Hyzer is set to take over the Americas division.