Aramark AGM: Shareholders Elect Directors, Approve Deloitte as Auditor and Executive Pay Advisory Vote

Key Points

• Shareholders elected Aramark’s full slate of 11 directors, ratified Deloitte & Touche as independent auditor for fiscal 2026, and approved the company’s executive compensation in a non‑binding advisory vote.
• The board expressed confidence in CEO John Zillmer, stating there is no near‑term succession plan and that a “robust pipeline” of senior executives is being developed for future leadership needs.
• Management said supply‑chain impacts from tariffs have been managed with “very little disruption” and are considered negligible to operations and financial results, and the company continues to engage NGOs and review its animal‑welfare practices.

Aramark NYSE: ARMK shareholders elected the company’s slate of directors, ratified the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as independent auditor for fiscal 2026, and approved executive compensation in a non-binding advisory vote, according to preliminary results announced during the company’s annual meeting, which was held virtually.

Virtual annual meeting and attendance

Stephen Sadove, chairman of Aramark’s board, opened the meeting and said the company continued its practice of holding a virtual annual meeting. Sadove said the format provides shareholders with the “same rights and advantages of a physical meeting” and enables online question submission from any location.

Sadove introduced the board of directors as Susan Cameron, Greg Creed, Brian DelGhiaccio, Richard Dreiling, Bridgette Heller, Kenneth Keverian, Karen King, Patricia Lopez, Kevin Wills, John Zillmer, and himself. He also noted that members of Aramark’s leadership team attended, along with representatives of Deloitte & Touche.

Record date and quorum

Corporate Secretary Harold Dichter conducted the formal business portion of the meeting. Dichter said the board set Dec. 12, 2025 as the record date for determining shareholders entitled to vote. As of that date, Aramark had 262,808,032 shares of common stock outstanding, with each share entitled to one vote.

Dichter said the notice of meeting and proxy statement were mailed on Dec. 22, 2025 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 12, 2025, and that an affidavit of mailing was available. He added that Broadridge, serving as inspector of election, reported that shares representing a majority of votes were present, establishing a quorum.

Items voted on and preliminary results

Three proposals were presented as outlined in the company’s proxy statement:

• Election of directors
• Ratification of Deloitte & Touche LLP as independent public accounting firm for fiscal 2026
• Advisory vote on compensation of the company’s named executive officers

Dichter said the board nominated 11 directors—Cameron, Creed, DelGhiaccio, Dreiling, Heller, Keverian, King, Lopez, Sadove, Wills, and Zillmer—to serve until the 2027 annual meeting or until successors are elected and qualified. He noted that under the company’s bylaws, no other nominations could be made at the meeting.

The polls opened at 10:04 a.m. and closed at 10:05 a.m. Following the initial tally, the inspector of election reported that each of the board’s nominees was elected, Deloitte & Touche was ratified as the company’s independent auditor, and executive compensation was approved on an advisory basis. Dichter said a final report with a precise tally would be provided for inclusion with the meeting minutes.

Shareholder Q&A: CEO succession, tariffs, and animal welfare

After the voting portion concluded, Sadove opened a general question-and-answer session. The meeting rules limited each shareholder to two questions.

In response to a question regarding CEO succession planning, Sadove said the board was pleased with Chief Executive Officer John Zillmer’s performance and that “there is no plan for John to be leaving the company in the near term.” He added that Aramark has “a robust pipeline of senior executives” developing for potential leadership roles over time, and that the board would determine timing and next steps as appropriate, while expressing comfort with Zillmer’s near-term leadership.

Zillmer addressed a question about supply chain impacts from tariffs, saying Aramark’s supply chain team has managed the environment with “very little disruption” over the last several years. He said the company felt comfortable managing potential shortfalls or disruptions stemming from tariffs and characterized tariff impacts as “negligible” on both the supply chain and financial results.

A third question asked how Aramark evaluates its animal welfare guidelines and whether it has an animal welfare advisory council and who its members are. The company responded that it continues to engage with a broad range of non-governmental organizations, regularly evaluates approaches related to animal rights and product safety, and continues assessing opportunities to improve, adding that it takes the matter seriously. No council membership details were provided during the meeting.

Sadove said the inspector’s report would be filed with the company’s meeting records and could be reviewed by shareholders by contacting the corporate secretary. The meeting concluded shortly after the Q&A session.

About Aramark NYSE: ARMK

Aramark NYSE: ARMK is a global provider of food services, facilities management and uniform solutions, serving clients across a wide array of industries including education, healthcare, business and government. The company operates through three primary segments: Food and Support Services, Uniform and Career Apparel, and Facility Services, delivering integrated solutions designed to enhance guest experiences, improve operational efficiencies and maintain safe, clean environments. Aramark's offerings include corporate dining, patient and senior nutrition, campus dining, sports and entertainment concessions, custodial services, technical maintenance and industrial laundry.

Founded in 1959 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Aramark has expanded its footprint to more than 20 countries, with a strong presence in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia.

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