avnt-20260326

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 20549

SCHEDULE 14A
(Rule 14a-101)

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN PROXY STATEMENT
SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No._____)

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☑ Definitive Proxy Statement

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AVIENT CORPORATION

(Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)


(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if Other Than the Registrant)

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☐ Fee computed on table in exhibit required by Item 25(b) per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11.


Table of Contents			Page
Letter to Shareholders			i
Notice of 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders			iii
Record Date			iii
Voting Matters and Vote Recommendations			iii
Proxy Statement			1
Proxy Summary			1
Voting and Meeting Information			1
Attendance and Participation			1
Who is Eligible to Vote			2
Advance Voting Methods			2
Voting During the Annual Meeting			3
Questions			3
Our Strategy			4
Our Director Nominees and Committee Membership			5
Summary of Director Nominee Skills, Experience and Background			6
Board Skills Matrix			7
Governance Highlights			8
PROPOSAL 1—Election of Eleven Director Nominees to Our Board of Directors			10
PROPOSAL 2—Approval, on an Advisory Basis, of Named Executive Officer Compensation			22
PROPOSAL 3—Ratification of the Appointment of Ernst & Young LLP (“EY”) as Our Independent Registered Public Accountant			24
Independent Registered Public Accountant Services and Related Fee Arrangements			24
Report of the Audit Committee			25
Corporate Governance			27
Director Independence			27


Board Leadership Structure			28
Majority Voting for Directors			29
Board Oversight of Risk			29
Oversight of Strategy			31
Oversight of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Matters			31
Code of Ethics, Code of Conduct and Corporate Governance Guidelines			31
Related Person Transactions			31
Communication with the Board			32
Board and Committees			33
Board Refreshment			37
Board Tenure			37
2025 Non-Employee Director Compensation			39
Non-Employee Director Compensation Highlights			39
Non-Employee Director Retainer and Meeting Fees			39
2025 Non-Employee Director Compensation Table			40
Fully Vested Deferred Shares			41
Ownership of Avient Shares			42
Beneficial Ownership of Our Common Shares			42
Stock Ownership Guidelines for Non-Employee Directors			43
Compensation Discussion and Analysis			45
Executive Summary			45
Executive Compensation Philosophy and Objectives			47
What We Pay and Why: Elements of Compensation			49
Other Aspects of Our Compensation Programs			59
Executive Compensation			64
2025 Summary Compensation Table			64
2025 Grants of Plan-Based Awards			67
Outstanding Equity Awards at 2025 Fiscal Year-End			69
2025 Option Exercises and Stock Vested			70
2025 Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation			70
Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change of Control			72
CEO Pay Ratio Disclosure			76
Pay Versus Performance Disclosure			77
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation			81


Risk Assessment of the Compensation Programs			81
Compensation Committee Report			81
Miscellaneous Provisions			82
Appendix A			85

In this proxy statement, statements that are not reported financial results or other historical information are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements give current expectations or forecasts of future events and are not guarantees of future performance. They are based on management’s expectations that involve a number of business risks and uncertainties, any of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. You can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historic or current facts. They use words such as “will,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe” and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial condition, performance and/or sales. In particular, these include statements relating to future actions; prospective changes in raw material costs, product pricing or product demand; future performance; estimated capital expenditures; results of current and anticipated market conditions and market strategies; sales efforts; expenses; the outcome of contingencies such as legal proceedings and environmental liabilities; and financial results. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those implied by these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:

•disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the global credit markets that could adversely impact the availability of credit already arranged and the availability and cost of credit in the future;

•the effect on foreign operations of currency fluctuations, tariffs and other political, economic and regulatory risks;

•disruptions or inefficiencies in our supply chain, logistics, or operations;

•changes in laws and regulations in jurisdictions where we conduct business, including with respect to plastics and climate change;

•changes to foreign trade policy, including new or increased tariffs and changing import/export regulations;

•fluctuations in raw material prices, quality and supply, and in energy prices and supply;

•demand for our products and services;

•production outages or material costs associated with scheduled or unscheduled maintenance programs;

•unanticipated developments that could occur with respect to contingencies such as litigation and environmental matters;

•our ability to pay regular quarterly cash dividends and the amounts and timing of any future dividends;

•information systems failures, cybersecurity breaches and cyberattacks;

•our ability to service our indebtedness and restrictions on our current and future operations due to our indebtedness;

•amounts for cash and non-cash charges related to restructuring plans that may differ from original estimates, including because of timing changes associated with the underlying actions;

•other factors affecting our business beyond our control, including without limitation, changes in the general economy, changes in interest rates, changes in the rate of inflation, geopolitical conflicts, and any recessionary conditions; and

•other factors described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 under Item 1A, “Risk Factors.”

We cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will be realized, although we believe we have been prudent in our plans and assumptions. Achievement of future results is subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Should known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove inaccurate, actual results could vary materially from those anticipated, estimated or projected. Investors should bear this in mind as they consider forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law. You are advised, however, to consult any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our reports on Forms 10-Q, 8-K and 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should understand that it is not possible to predict or identify all risk factors. Consequently, you should not consider any such list to be a complete set of all potential risks or uncertainties.

Letter to Shareholders

March 27, 2026

Dear Shareholder:

You are invited to attend and participate in the Avient Corporation 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “Annual Meeting”), which will be held virtually via live webcast at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, May 14, 2026. The virtual format enables full and equal participation of all shareholders regardless of location and reduces the cost and environmental impact of the Annual Meeting. You will be able to attend and participate in the Annual Meeting online, vote your shares electronically and submit your questions during the Annual Meeting by visiting www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/AVNT2026.

Reflections

The conclusion of 2025 marked the end of my second full year as Chief Executive Officer of Avient, and we have been working to evolve the company since I joined. Over this period, we have changed our strategic focus and strengthened execution across the organization.

In 2024, we defined our company’s core purpose – to be an innovator of materials solutions to help our customers succeed, while enabling a sustainable world – and adopted a new strategy. While Avient’s growth story historically had been centered around merger and acquisition activities as a means to change our portfolio mix, our strategy today focuses primarily on organic growth powered by innovating in the right spaces, with M&A complementing our growth efforts, as needed. At Avient, we adopted a two-pronged strategic approach: intersecting high-growth markets and secular trends with our technologies to build new platforms of scale, and catalyzing the core of our business to maximize the value of our existing portfolio. And this strategy is bearing fruit. Over the last two years our prioritized growth vectors have delivered substantial growth, and our innovation has resulted in differentiated products. Similarly, our concentrated efforts to drive profitability, consistently delivering top-line revenue growth and margin expansion on the bottom line, have also taken hold.

Strong Results

Looking specifically at 2025, while sales were relatively flat year-over-year, we delivered adjusted EBITDA margin expansion compared to 2024, with productivity initiatives, product mix, and positive results from our prioritized growth vectors enabling this expansion. Adjusted EPS grew compared to last year. Disciplined cash management helped generate free cash flow for our company that enabled us to reduce our outstanding debt by $150 million. These positive financial results are particularly noteworthy given the challenging macro business environment in which we were operating, which was marked by unprecedented trade dynamics, inflationary pressures, and lower consumer confidence. Conditions were not easy, but our team delivered.

Separate from our financial performance, 2025 was a strong year across other organizational aspects as well. We recruited and retained top talent within our organization and rolled out new Avient Leadership Behaviors to continue to strengthen our culture. We also drove digital initiatives to increase our operational effectiveness, including piloting artificial intelligence tools. Finally, we have remained resolute in fostering an environment in which safety and ethical behaviors are baseline expectations for how we do business.

Focus for 2026 and the Future of Avient

Innovation will remain the bedrock of our strategy at Avient in 2026 and beyond, and will be key to accelerating growth and profitability for the company and our shareholders. We will continue to invest in differentiated solutions to help address customer needs in high-growth markets. As our flywheel of innovation gains momentum, we anticipate the success that we have already seen will multiply. Supported by Avient's strong history of operational execution and financial discipline, we are confident that 2026 will continue our trajectory of positive financial and operating results. Thank you for your continued trust and confidence in Avient Corporation.

Your Vote is Important

We use the internet as our primary means of furnishing proxy materials to our shareholders, including the notice, proxy statement, and proxy card. The notice and proxy statement contain important information about proxy voting and the business to be conducted at the Annual Meeting, including the nominees for election to our Board of Directors.

Whether or not you plan to attend the Annual Meeting, please vote as promptly as possible to make sure your vote is counted. Every shareholder vote is important, and we want to ensure your shares are represented. Instructions on how to vote are found in the section entitled “Advance Voting Methods” in the Proxy Summary.

We appreciate the strong support of our shareholders over the years and hope that you will be able to attend and participate in this year’s Annual Meeting.

Sincerely,

Ashish K. Khandpur

Chairman, President and

Chief Executive Officer

Please refer to the accompanying materials for voting instructions.

Notice of 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders

Thursday, May 14, 2026

9:00 a.m. Eastern Time

We are pleased to invite you to join our Board of Directors (the “Board”), senior leadership, and other employees of Avient Corporation (“Avient” or the “Company”) for the 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “Annual Meeting”), to be held online at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/AVNT2026.

Record Date

The Board set March 17, 2026 as the record date for the Annual Meeting and owners of record of common shares of Avient as of the close of business on that date are eligible to:

•Receive this notice of the Annual Meeting; and

•Vote at the Annual Meeting and any adjournments or postponements of the Annual Meeting.

Voting Matters and Vote Recommendations


Proposals For Your Vote			Board Recommendation
1. Election of eleven director nominees to our Board of Directors			Vote FOR Each Nominee
2. Approval, on an advisory basis, of Named Executive Officer compensation			Vote FOR
3. Ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2026			Vote FOR

Shareholders will also consider and transact any other business that may properly come before the Annual Meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof.

Please confirm that your shares are represented at the Annual Meeting by promptly voting and submitting your proxy by using the internet or telephone as further explained in this proxy statement, or by completing, signing, dating, and mailing a proxy card and/or voting instruction card.

March 27, 2026

For the Board of Directors

Amy M. Sanders

Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary and Corporate Ethics Officer


Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on May 14, 2026: The Company's Notice of 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, Proxy Statement, and 2025 Annual Report on Form 10-K are available online at www.proxyvote.com.

iii

PROXY SUMMARY

Avient Corporation

33587 Walker Road

Avon Lake, Ohio 44012

Proxy Statement

We are providing the enclosed proxy materials to you in connection with the solicitation by the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Avient Corporation (“Avient,” “Avient Corporation,” or the “Company”) of proxies to be voted at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on Thursday, May 14, 2026 (the “Annual Meeting”), and at any adjournments or postponements thereof. We began making our proxy materials available to shareholders on March 27, 2026.

Proxy Summary

This summary does not contain all of the information that you should consider, and you should read the entire proxy statement carefully before voting.

Voting and Meeting Information

Your vote is important to the future of the Company. Please carefully review the proxy materials for the Annual Meeting, which will be held virtually via live webcast on Thursday, May 14, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/AVNT2026. Follow the instructions below to cast your vote on all of the voting matters.

The Annual Meeting will be conducted virtually because doing so enables greater shareholder attendance and participation from any location around the world, and reduces the cost and environmental impact of the Annual Meeting. We have designed the virtual Annual Meeting to provide substantially the same opportunities to participate as you would have at an in-person meeting.

Attendance and Participation

Our Annual Meeting will be conducted on the internet via live webcast. You will be able to attend and participate in the Annual Meeting online and submit your questions during the Annual Meeting by visiting www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/AVNT2026. Shareholders will be able to vote their shares electronically during the Annual Meeting.

Shareholders as of the close of business on March 17, 2026, the record date for the Annual Meeting (the “Record Date”), may attend and participate in the Annual Meeting. To attend and participate in the Annual Meeting, you will need the 16-digit control number included on the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials, proxy card, and/or voting instruction card. The Annual Meeting webcast will begin promptly at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. We encourage you to access the Annual Meeting prior to the start time. Online access will begin at 8:45 a.m. Eastern Time.

The virtual Annual Meeting platform is fully supported across browsers and devices running the most updated version of applicable software and plugins. Participants should confirm that they have a strong Wi-Fi connection wherever they intend to attend and participate in the Annual Meeting. Participants should also give themselves plenty of time to log in prior to the start of the Annual Meeting.

PROXY STATEMENT 2026 | Annual Meeting of Shareholders 1

PROXY SUMMARY

Who is Eligible to Vote

You are entitled to vote if you were a shareholder as of the close of business on the Record Date. Each common share is entitled to one vote for each Director nominee and one vote for each of the other proposals to be voted on at the Annual Meeting.

•Shareholders of Record: If your shares are registered directly in your name with our transfer agent, EQ Shareowner Services, you are considered the shareholder of record with respect to those shares. As a shareholder of record, you may vote during the Annual Meeting by participating in the Annual Meeting online and following the instructions posted at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/AVNT2026 or you may vote by proxy.

•Beneficial Owners of Shares Held in Street Name: If your shares are held in an account at a brokerage firm, bank, or other similar organization, you are the beneficial owner of shares held in “street name,” and the organization with which you have an account is considered the shareholder of record for purposes of voting. As a beneficial owner, you have the right to instruct that organization on how to vote the shares held in your account. You are also invited to attend and participate in the Annual Meeting online at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/AVNT2026.

•If you are a participant in the Avient Retirement Savings Plan, you must sign and return your voting instruction card by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on May 12, 2026 to instruct the trustee on how to vote the shares held under the plan. You will not be able to vote shares held in this plan electronically online during the Annual Meeting.

Advance Voting Methods

Even if you plan to attend and participate in our Annual Meeting, please cast your vote as soon as possible using one of the following advance voting methods:


			Visit www.proxyvote.com to vote your proxy over the internet until 11:59 p.m. (ET) on May 13, 2026.
			Call +1-800-690-6903 to vote your proxy by telephone until 11:59 p.m. (ET) on May 13, 2026.
			Sign, date and return your proxy card and/or voting instruction card to vote by mail.

Common shares represented by a properly signed proxy card will be voted in accordance with the choices marked on the card. If no choices are marked, the shares will be voted FOR the: (1) election of eleven Director nominees to our Board; (2) approval, on an advisory basis, of Named Executive Officer compensation; and (3) ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP (“EY”) as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2026.



Each shareholder’s vote is important. Please submit your vote and proxy by internet or telephone, or complete, sign, date and return your proxy card or voting instruction card.

PROXY STATEMENT 2026 | Annual Meeting of Shareholders 2

PROXY SUMMARY

Voting During the Annual Meeting

Shareholders may vote their shares electronically online during the Annual Meeting. If you choose to vote your shares online during the Annual Meeting, follow the instructions posted at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/AVNT2026. You will need the 16-digit control number included on your Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials, proxy card and/or voting instruction card. Voting electronically online during the Annual Meeting will replace any previous votes.

Participants in the Avient Retirement Savings Plan will not be able to vote shares held in this plan electronically online during the Annual Meeting.

Questions

Shareholders may submit questions during the Annual Meeting. If you wish to submit a question, you may do so by logging into the virtual meeting platform at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/AVNT2026, and following the instructions on the meeting platform.

Questions pertinent to Annual Meeting matters will be answered during the Annual Meeting, subject to time constraints. Questions regarding personal matters, including, but not limited to, those related to employment or product issues, are not pertinent to Annual Meeting matters and therefore will not be answered.

PROXY STATEMENT 2026 | Annual Meeting of Shareholders 3

OUR STRATEGY

Our Strategy

In 2024, we unveiled Avient’s new strategic direction guided by our purpose: to be an innovator of materials solutions to help our customers succeed, while enabling a sustainable world. We seek to achieve this with a two-pronged strategic approach:

1) Building new platforms of scale, to play bigger and bolder in high-growth markets, and

2) Catalyzing our core business, to maximize the impact of our existing portfolio.

We have identified growth vectors—specific markets and applications targeted for above-market growth—in both accelerating markets and in our core business, by intersecting secular trends with our technologies (for example, applying our advanced composites expertise to growing defense and law enforcement demand). We seek to operationalize our strategy using four strategic drivers:

Portfolio prioritization: Focus resources on specific markets and applications that are expected to drive above-market growth and align with our competitive strengths.

Amplify innovation: Innovate in select areas to create differentiated product platforms of scale.

Digital for operational excellence and growth: Use digital tools and processes to drive efficiencies and growth.

Leadership, talent and culture for the Avient of the future: Harness the 9,000+ minds of Avient employees by driving a culture of collaboration.

Our strategy builds upon Avient’s foundational strengths refined over our history: unwavering customer focus; global reach with a local touch; diverse technology portfolio; commercial excellence; financial rigor and prudence; and a culture of safety and sustainability. The safety and health of our employees remain top priorities, and our ultimate goal is to operate injury-free. We continue to be recognized as an American Chemistry Council Responsible Care® company and hold an EcoVadis Silver sustainability rating.

In 2025, we made significant progress implementing our new strategy. Our growth vector sales are outpacing the rest of the Company, with defense and healthcare leading the way. Internal R&D collaboration has increased, resulting in technology sharing across businesses and geographies. We have bolstered digital capabilities with a focus on pilot projects designed to improve speed and efficiency. We launched Avient Leadership Behaviors—six critical behaviors that apply to all employees and we will drive throughout the organization—to foster the culture needed to execute our strategy. We continued to build our talent pipeline by promoting leaders from within and bringing in external expertise as needed.

Additional performance commentary is provided in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis section of this proxy statement, in the Investor Relations section of www.avient.com, in our 2025 Annual Report, and during our quarterly earnings conference calls. Information on our website is not deemed a part hereof, unless explicitly incorporated by reference.

PROXY STATEMENT 2026 | Annual Meeting of Shareholders 4

DIRECTOR NOMINEES

Our Director Nominees and Committee Membership

You are being asked to vote on the election of eleven Director nominees. Detailed information about each Director nominee’s background, qualifications, attributes, skills and experience can be found beginning on page 11.

As previously disclosed, Gregory J. Goff notified the Board that he did not intend to stand for reelection at the Annual Meeting. Accordingly, Mr. Goff will continue to serve as a member of the Board until the expiration of his current term at the Annual Meeting.

Our Board maintains Audit (“AC”), Compensation and Talent (“C&TC”), Governance and Corporate Responsibility (“G&CRC”), and Innovation and Sustainability (“I&SC”) committees. The following table provides membership and meeting information for each committee as of March 17, 2026. In addition, the table identifies the independent directors.

Name

Age

Director

Since

Independent

Committee Membership

(M=Member, C=Chair)

C&TC

G&CRC

I&SC

Robert E. Abernathy

2018

Yes

Richard H. Fearon

2004

Yes

Gregory J. Goff

2011

Yes

Neil Green

2021

Yes

William R. Jellison

2015

Yes

Ashish K. Khandpur

2023

Sandra Beach Lin

2013

Yes

Kim Ann Mink

2017

Yes

Ernest Nicolas

2021

Yes

Kerry J. Preete

2013

Yes

Patricia Verduin

2019

Yes

William A. Wulfsohn

2011

Yes

Number of Meetings Held in 2025

PROXY STATEMENT 2026 | Annual Meeting of Shareholders 5

DIRECTOR NOMINEES

Summary of Director Nominee Skills, Experience and Background

Each of our Director nominees possesses a balance of strategic skills, professional experiences and unique perspectives. The tables below summarize the key skills, experiences and backgrounds of each of our Director nominees that are most relevant to their board service.

Financial

Knowledge of finance or financial reporting; experience with debt/capital market transactions and/or mergers and acquisitions

International

Experience doing business internationally or focused on international issues and operations and exposure to markets, economies, and cultures outside the U.S.

Industry Expertise

Significant experience in the Company’s businesses and industries

Digital

Experience and understanding of digital strategy, information security, data privacy and cybersecurity

Innovation and Technology

Technical or scientific knowledge and experience implementing innovation and technology strategies

Human Capital

Experience in management of labor relations, in human resources, and talent management

Operations

Experience overseeing

complex operations and developing and implementing operational plans and

business operations strategy

Regulatory

Experience in government

and regulatory affairs, and regulated industries, including as part of a business and/or through positions with government organizations

and regulatory bodies

Corporate Governance and Risk Management

Experience and understanding of governance matters and principles, including management accountability, transparency, protection of shareholder interests, and corporate responsibility initiatives including sustainability; experience identifying, assessing,

and controlling financial or business risks

PROXY STATEMENT 2026 | Annual Meeting of Shareholders 6

DIRECTOR NOMINEES

Board Skills Matrix

Skills/Experience

Abernathy

Fearon

Green

Jellison

Khandpur

Lin

Mink

Nicolas

Preete

Verduin

Wulfsohn

Financial

International

Industry Expertise

Digital

SEC Form DEF 14A filed by Avient Corporation