# Nubank Grants David Vélez Stock Award Valued at $200 Million, Vesting Through 2036 *The equity award replaces annual stock incentives scheduled for 2027 through 2031. Nubank says the 10-year vesting plan reinforces its founder and CEO’s long-term commitment to the company.* - Published: 2026-10-30 - Section: Insights - URL: https://brazilstockguide.com/insights/nubank-david-velez-200-million-stock-award-2036/ ![David Velez, Nubank](https://i0.wp.com/brazilstockguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/david_ve__lez_03.jpeg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1) **By Brazil Stock Guide —** Over the past 13 years, David Vélez has helped transform a financial startup founded in São Paulo into one of the world’s largest digital banking platforms. Nubank, which he co-founded in 2013 alongside Cristina Junqueira and Edward Wible, reached 139 million customers in the second quarter of 2026 and surpassed $1 billion in quarterly net income. Now, the company’s founder and CEO has another decade of equity incentives ahead of him: a stock award valued at approximately $200 million on the date it was granted. The award was granted on October 15, 2026, and disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to the filing, Nu Holdings (NYSE: NU) awarded Vélez exactly 13,577,733 Class A ordinary shares at no cost to the executive. Based on Nubank’s closing share price of $14.73 that day, the award had a market value of approximately $200 million. By Thursday, October 29, its estimated market value had already fallen to roughly $163.6 million, reflecting a decline in Nubank’s share price to $12.05 on the New York Stock Exchange. The award, however, does not represent an immediate cash payment to Vélez. The shares are subject to a 10-year vesting schedule, with the final tranche scheduled to vest on January 1, 2036. Vélez must remain with the company through the applicable vesting dates to retain his entitlement to the shares. The $200 million market valuation also does not necessarily correspond to the accounting expense Nubank will recognize over the life of the award. The grant replaces the annual equity awards that Vélez would otherwise have received between 2027 and 2031. Instead of receiving regular annual grants over those five years, he has been awarded a single package that will vest over a decade. The SEC filing does not disclose the value of the annual awards that had originally been contemplated, making it impossible to determine whether the arrangement represents an actual increase in Vélez’s total compensation. This is not the first time Vélez’s equity compensation has involved hundreds of millions of dollars. In November 2022, Nubank’s founder voluntarily relinquished an incentive plan established the previous year, which had an estimated accounting fair value of $423 million. That arrangement could have awarded him up to an additional 2% of the company’s equity, subject to specific share-price appreciation targets. At the time, Nubank said terminating the plan would prevent potential shareholder dilution of up to 2% and eliminate $356 million in future compensation expenses, although the decision required the company to recognize an equivalent one-time accounting charge in 2022. The plan was terminated without Vélez receiving the shares contemplated under the arrangement. In a statement to Brazil Stock Guide, Nubank said it complies with the standard transparency requirements applicable to companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange. “Consistent with our compensation model, the incentive granted to Founder and CEO David Vélez is a one-time, long-term equity award with a vesting period extending through January 1, 2036,” the company said. According to Nubank, the arrangement reflects Vélez’s long-term commitment to the business, not only as its founder and chairman of the board but also as CEO. Nubank did not clarify whether the shares are subject to financial performance targets or share-price appreciation requirements beyond the executive’s continued service. The company also did not provide details about the award’s expected impact on its financial results or any potential effect on other shareholders’ ownership interests. According to the SEC filing, the restricted shares have already been issued and registered in Vélez’s name, although they remain subject to vesting conditions. The size of the award is particularly noteworthy given Nubank’s ownership and voting structure. In addition to serving as CEO and chairman, Vélez controls the company through Class B shares, which carry 20 votes each, compared with one vote per Class A share traded on the New York Stock Exchange. According to Nu Holdings’ 2025 annual report, based on ownership information as of March 2026, Vélez was attributed beneficial ownership of approximately 903.1 million Class B shares, representing 74.4% of the company’s total voting power. Using the October 29 closing price of $12.05 for Nubank’s Class A shares as a valuation benchmark, that Class B stake would be worth approximately $10.88 billion, assuming the number of shares remained unchanged. That ownership structure gives Vélez decisive influence over Nubank despite holding less than a majority of its economic equity, making transparency around the approval of his compensation particularly important from a corporate governance perspective. --- Source: Brazil Stock Guide, https://brazilstockguide.com/insights/nubank-david-velez-200-million-stock-award-2036/