Companies Diversified Energy Co
Diversified Energy (DEC): executive pay, fiscal 2025
Free brief. Every figure links to the company’s own filing.
Velarion Intel: free for 3 days, no card →Email me Diversified Energy Co’s executive pay brief as a PDF
You get it on this page the moment you ask, and a copy by email. Every figure is cited to its filing.
After the PDF, up to three short notes on the deeper reports for this company. Reply “unsubscribe” to any of them, any time.
CEO pay, last three years
- $4,159,739FY2023
- $4,609,862FY2024
- $4,996,277FY2025
CEO total pay was $4,996,277 in fiscal 2025, up from $4,609,862 in fiscal 2024.
FY2025: salary $806,923 · bonus $0 · stock awards $2,795,234 · option awards $0
Executives and directors
Frequently asked questions
Answers are drawn only from the figures disclosed in this brief and cited to their location in the source filing. Where a figure required for an answer is not disclosed, that is stated rather than estimated.
Full detail
Every table from the filing. Open any section.
Summary compensation table
| Named executive officer | Salary | Bonus | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Pension / NQDC | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Gideon | $365,385 | $0 | $3,954,111 | $0 | $449,409 | $0 | $1,814,179 | $6,583,084 |
| Chief Operating Officer | ||||||||
| Robert Hutson | 806,923 | 0 | 2,795,234 | 0 | 1,359,056 | 0 | 35,064 | 4,996,277 |
| Chief Executive Officer | ||||||||
| Bradley Gray | 519,231 | 333,000 | 1,164,002 | 0 | 655,980 | 0 | 52,681 | 2,724,894 |
| President & Chief Financial Officer | ||||||||
| Benjamin Sullivan | 469,231 | 284,000 | 956,437 | 0 | 592,905 | 0 | 38,537 | 2,341,110 |
| Senior EVP, Chief Legal and Risk Officer & Corporate Secretary | ||||||||
| Ronald Ridgway | 362,019 | 144,500 | 368,842 | 0 | 381,078 | 0 | 38,296 | 1,294,735 |
| EVP of Energy Marketing | ||||||||
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column; 0 means it reported zero. Figures are as printed in the filing, without adjustment.
Three-year trend — total compensation per named executive
| Named executive officer | FY2025 total | FY2024 total | FY2023 total | Δ FY2024→2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Gideon | $6,583,084 | — | — | — |
| Robert Hutson | 4,996,277 | 4,609,862 | 4,159,739 | ↑ +386,415 |
| Bradley Gray | 2,724,894 | 2,649,951 | 2,275,023 | ↑ +74,943 |
| Benjamin Sullivan | 2,341,110 | 2,268,779 | 1,881,514 | ↑ +72,331 |
| Ronald Ridgway | 1,294,735 | 1,190,874 | 885,788 | ↑ +103,861 |
Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.
Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis
The executive compensation program is designed to align pay outcomes with Company performance, shareholder interests, and long-term strategic priorities by tying compensation to the achievement of financial and operational goals. It aims to drive desired behaviors consistent with company values, maintain industry competitiveness, and ensure internal consistency and equity by making a substantial portion of total compensation variable and at-risk.
| CEO STI target (% of salary) | — |
|---|---|
| CEO LTI target (% of salary) | — |
| Independent consultant | Mercer Limited |
| Clawback policy | true |
| Anti-hedging | true |
| Anti-pledging | true |
Equity grants and outstanding awards
Grants of plan-based awards — fiscal year 2025
| Executive | Award | Grant date | Threshold | Target | Granted | Maximum | Grant-date fair value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Gideon | PSU | 2025-04-10 | 4,028 | 26,850 | — | 26,850 | $289,980 |
| Robert Hutson | RSU | 2025-04-10 | — | — | 60,898 | — | 657,698 |
| Robert Hutson | PSU | 2025-04-10 | 29,688 | 197,920 | — | 197,920 | 2,137,536 |
| Ronald Ridgway | RSU | 2025-04-10 | — | — | 23,906 | — | 258,185 |
| Benjamin Sullivan | PSU | 2025-04-10 | 3,985 | 26,568 | — | 26,568 | 286,934 |
| Richard Gideon | RSU | 2025-04-10 | — | — | 62,651 | — | 676,631 |
| Richard Gideon | RSU | 2025-03-14 | — | — | 250,000 | — | 2,987,500 |
| Benjamin Sullivan | RSU | 2025-04-10 | — | — | 61,991 | — | 669,503 |
| Bradley Gray | PSU | 2025-04-10 | 4,850 | 32,333 | — | 32,333 | 349,196 |
| Ronald Ridgway | PSU | 2025-04-10 | 1,537 | 10,246 | — | 10,246 | 110,657 |
| Bradley Gray | RSU | 2025-04-10 | — | — | 75,445 | — | 814,806 |
Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type
| Named executive officer | Time-vested (RSU) | Performance-vested (PSU) | Options / SARs | % performance-vested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Gideon | $3,664,131 | $289,980 | $0 | 7.3% |
| Robert Hutson | 657,698 | 2,137,536 | 0 | 76.5% |
| Ronald Ridgway | 258,185 | 110,657 | 0 | 30.0% |
| Benjamin Sullivan | 669,503 | 286,934 | 0 | 30.0% |
| Bradley Gray | 814,806 | 349,196 | 0 | 30.0% |
% performance-vested = PSU grant-date fair value ÷ (RSU + PSU + Options), a computed value with the derivation shown in the register.
Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end 2025
| Executive | Award | Shares unvested | Exercise price | Market value unvested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ronald Ridgway | PSU | 9,670 | — | $140,022 |
| Ronald Ridgway | PSU | 11,089 | — | 160,569 |
| Ronald Ridgway | PSU | 14,535 | — | 210,467 |
| Ronald Ridgway | PSU | 25,874 | — | 374,656 |
| Benjamin Sullivan | PSU | 28,754 | — | 416,358 |
| Richard Gideon | PSU | 29,061 | — | 420,803 |
| Benjamin Sullivan | PSU | 30,328 | — | 439,149 |
| Ronald Ridgway | PSU | 33,914 | — | 491,075 |
| Bradley Gray | PSU | 34,995 | — | 506,728 |
| Bradley Gray | PSU | 36,079 | — | 522,424 |
| Benjamin Sullivan | PSU | 37,376 | — | 541,204 |
| Bradley Gray | PSU | 45,679 | — | 661,432 |
| Robert Hutson | PSU | 65,911 | — | 954,391 |
| Benjamin Sullivan | PSU | 67,095 | — | 971,536 |
| Richard Gideon | PSU | 67,808 | — | 981,860 |
| Bradley Gray | PSU | 81,656 | — | 1,182,379 |
| Benjamin Sullivan | PSU | 87,210 | — | 1,262,801 |
| Bradley Gray | PSU | 106,588 | — | 1,543,394 |
| Robert Hutson | PSU | 214,215 | — | 3,101,833 |
| Richard Gideon | PSU | 250,000 | — | 3,620,000 |
| Robert Hutson | PSU | 280,728 | — | 4,064,941 |
Director compensation
| Director | Cash fees | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandy StashIndependent · Not standing for re-election · Departed during FY | $115,921 | $0 | $0 | — | $165,825 | $281,746 |
| David E. JohnsonIndependent · Board Chair · Compensation Committee · Sustainability and Safety Committee | 229,390 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 229,390 |
| David J. Turner JrIndependent · Audit (Chair) · Compensation (Chair) · Nominating/Governance | 204,379 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 204,379 |
| Kathryn Z. KlaberIndependent · Audit and Risk Committee (Chair) · Sustainability and Safety Committee (Chair) | 172,933 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 172,933 |
| Martin K. ThomasIndependent · Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee · Audit and Risk Committee | 164,792 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 164,792 |
| Randall WadeIndependent · Not standing for re-election | 90,067 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 90,067 |
| Sylvia KerriganIndependent · Not standing for re-election · Departed during FY | 28,238 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 28,238 |
| Robert Russell Hutson JrEmployee director | — | — | — | — | — | 0 |
Board fee structure and ownership guideline
| Annual cash retainer | $85,000 |
|---|---|
| Annual equity retainer | $150,000 |
| Per board meeting fee | — |
| Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov) | 20,000 / 20,000 / 15,000 |
| Stock ownership guideline | $5 |
Total cost of the board
| Component | FY2025 |
|---|---|
| Cash retainers and fees | $1,005,720 |
| Equity awards (grant-date value) | $0 |
| All other compensation | $165,825 |
| Total cost of the board | $1,171,545 |
Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.
Peer group, and who names Diversified Energy as a peer
Companies that benchmark against DEC
5 companies name DEC as a compensation peer
- Granite Ridge Resources, Inc.GRNTFY2025
- RING ENERGY, INC.REIFY2025
- W&T OFFSHORE INCWTIFY2025
Each company listed discloses DEC in its own benchmarking peer group, as disclosed in each company's most recent proxy statement within the last two proxy seasons. Two companies are therefore absent by design: one that named DEC in an earlier year and no longer does, and one whose own most recent disclosure is older than the last two seasons.
Disclosed peer group — fiscal year 2025
The compensation peer group as the company disclosed it in its own proxy — the reference set behind the percentile above.
Peer reciprocity
The companies Diversified Energy Co names as compensation peers that name it back in their own disclosed peer groups.
Chief executive pay against the peer group
Most recent fiscal-year chief executive compensation at each disclosed peer, taken from that company’s own proxy statement.
| Rank | Company | FY | Chief executive | Salary | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Berry Corporation | 2024 | Kevin Kwilinski | $1,029,808 | $14,071,727 | $2,879,994 | $1,535,625 | $20,017,718 |
| 2 | Talos Energy Inc. | 2025 | Paul Goodfellow | 819,555 | 6,513,948 | 0 | 1,870,781 | 9,351,093 |
| 3 | Vital Energy | 2024 | Jason Pigott | 828,269 | 6,404,790 | 0 | 868,647 | 8,141,620 |
| 4 | CNX Resources Corp. | 2025 | Nicholas DeIuliis | 800,000 | 3,000,024 | 0 | 2,396,000 | 7,420,318 |
| 5 | W&T Offshore | 2025 | Tracy Krohn | 800,000 | 4,317,289 | 0 | 967,200 | 6,183,187 |
| 6 | Northern Oil and Gas | 2025 | Nicholas O'Grady | 925,000 | 2,815,683 | 0 | 1,638,564 | 5,602,413 |
| 7 | Diversified Energy Co | 2025 | Robert Hutson | 806,923 | 2,795,234 | 0 | 1,359,056 | 4,996,277 |
| 8 | Granite Ridge Resources | 2025 | Tyler Farquharson | 477,500 | 4,039,739 | 55,846 | 0 | 4,956,370 |
| 9 | Ring Energy | 2025 | Paul McKinney | 626,667 | 1,473,306 | 0 | 753,984 | 2,884,957 |
| 10 | Highpeak Energy | 2025 | Michael Hollis | 1,200,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,823,992 |
| 11 | Amplify Energy Corp. | 2025 | Daniel Furbee | 430,457 | 1,038,349 | 0 | 359,473 | 1,898,298 |
Each peer’s compensation is from its most recently filed proxy; fiscal years differ by company. Each peer’s figures come from its own filings; the subject company is highlighted. Peers whose chief executive compensation is outside our coverage universe are stated as such, never left blank.
Incentive design against the same peers
| Company | Annual incentive payout | Long-term vehicle mix | PSU measures include TSR | Compensation consultant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diversified Energy Co | not disclosed | RSU 70 · PSU 30 | not disclosed | Mercer Limited |
| Amplify Energy Corp. | not disclosed | PSU 50 · RSU 50 | not disclosed | Meridian |
| Berry Corporation | 117% | PSU 60 · Options 40 | Yes — Relative TSR vs. Peer Group | Pearl Meyer |
| CNX Resources Corp. | not disclosed | RSU 50 · PSU 40 · ESG PSU 10 | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Granite Ridge Resources | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | Dana Krieg |
| Highpeak Energy | not disclosed | RSU 100 | not disclosed | Pearl Meyer & Partners, LLC |
| Northern Oil and Gas | 136.5% | MSU 88 · RSU 12 | Yes — 3-Year Absolute TSR | Willis Towers Watson |
| Ring Energy | not disclosed | PSU 60 · RSU 40 | not disclosed | Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC |
| Talos Energy Inc. | not disclosed | RSU 50 · PSU 50 | not disclosed | Meridian |
| Vital Energy | not disclosed | RSU 50 · PSU 50 | not disclosed | Willis Towers Watson |
| W&T Offshore | 121.88% | PSU 60 · RSU 40 | Yes — TSR | Meridian |
Read from each company’s Compensation Discussion and Analysis: annual incentive payout as a percentage of target, the disclosed long-term vehicle mix, whether performance-share measures include a total shareholder return component, and the retained compensation consultant. “Not disclosed” appears only where the company’s filing does not state the item.
Say-on-pay history and pay ratio
| Meeting year | Meeting date | For | Against | Abstain | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-05-06 | 36,892,924 | 258,439 | 401,565 | 98.24% | Passed |
Rows are labeled by annual-meeting year, with the meeting date beside each; the vote held in a given year acts on the prior fiscal year’s compensation.
Say-on-pay — history, company’s computation
| Meeting year | Meeting date | Approval — company’s computation |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-05-06 | 98.24%a |
a. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “If a shareholder abstains from voting or directs the shareholder's proxy to abstain from voting on this matter, the abstention has the same effect as a vote against the matter.”.
Approval percentages are the company’s own reported computations under its own stated standard, not recomputed by Velarion. Where a company does not state a standard, none is assumed.
Insider trades since the proxy
No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.
Sources (43 citations)
Each figure is listed with the filing it comes from, where it appears in that filing, and the value as printed. Any figure can be independently confirmed against the source.
- Section 01, Richard Gideon. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. Section “SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE” · page 38. As printed: 6,583,084. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Robert Hutson. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. Section “SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE” · page 38. As printed: 4,996,277. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Bradley Gray. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. Section “SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE” · page 38. As printed: 2,724,894. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Benjamin Sullivan. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. Section “SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE” · page 38. As printed: 2,341,110. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Ronald Ridgway. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. Section “SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE” · page 38. As printed: 1,294,735. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Richard Gideon PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. Section “GRANTS OF PLAN-BASED AWARDS TABLE” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Robert Hutson RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. Section “GRANTS OF PLAN-BASED AWARDS TABLE” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Robert Hutson PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. Section “GRANTS OF PLAN-BASED AWARDS TABLE” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Ronald Ridgway RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. Section “GRANTS OF PLAN-BASED AWARDS TABLE” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Benjamin Sullivan PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. Section “GRANTS OF PLAN-BASED AWARDS TABLE” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Richard Gideon RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. Section “GRANTS OF PLAN-BASED AWARDS TABLE” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Richard Gideon RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. Section “GRANTS OF PLAN-BASED AWARDS TABLE” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Benjamin Sullivan RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. Section “GRANTS OF PLAN-BASED AWARDS TABLE” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Bradley Gray PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. Section “GRANTS OF PLAN-BASED AWARDS TABLE” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Ronald Ridgway PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. Section “GRANTS OF PLAN-BASED AWARDS TABLE” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Bradley Gray RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. Section “GRANTS OF PLAN-BASED AWARDS TABLE” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Sandy Stash. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 281,746. View filing ↗
- Section 08, David E. Johnson. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 229,390. View filing ↗
- Section 08, David J. Turner Jr. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 204,379. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Kathryn Z. Klaber. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 172,933. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Martin K. Thomas. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 164,792. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Randall Wade. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 90,067. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Sylvia Kerrigan. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 28,238. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Robert Russell Hutson Jr. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
- Section 06, 2026 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2026-05-12. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 98.24% (votes for as printed: 36,892,924). View filing ↗
- Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed). Computed. Δ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.
- Section 03b vehicle mix (computed). Computed. RSU / PSU / Options grant-date fair values summed per officer from the grants table; % performance-vested = PSU ÷ (RSU+PSU+Options).
- Section 09b board cost (computed). Computed. Cash 1,005,720 + equity 0 + all other 165,825 = 1,171,545, summed across the director compensation table rows.
- Berry Corporation, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2025-01-07. CEO total compensation as printed in Berry Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 20,017,718. View filing ↗
- Talos Energy Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-22. CEO total compensation as printed in Talos Energy Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 9,351,093. View filing ↗
- Vital Energy, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-10. CEO total compensation as printed in Vital Energy's own proxy. As printed: 8,141,620. View filing ↗
- CNX Resources Corp., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-26. CEO total compensation as printed in CNX Resources Corp.'s own proxy. As printed: 7,420,318. View filing ↗
- W&T Offshore, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. CEO total compensation as printed in W&T Offshore's own proxy. As printed: 6,183,187. View filing ↗
- Northern Oil and Gas, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. CEO total compensation as printed in Northern Oil and Gas's own proxy. As printed: 5,602,413. View filing ↗
- Diversified Energy Co (subject), Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. CEO total compensation as printed in Diversified Energy Co's own proxy. As printed: 4,996,277. View filing ↗
- Granite Ridge Resources, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-08. CEO total compensation as printed in Granite Ridge Resources's own proxy. As printed: 4,956,370. View filing ↗
- Ring Energy, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. CEO total compensation as printed in Ring Energy's own proxy. As printed: 2,884,957. View filing ↗
- Highpeak Energy, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-30. CEO total compensation as printed in Highpeak Energy's own proxy. As printed: 2,823,992. View filing ↗
- Amplify Energy Corp., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. CEO total compensation as printed in Amplify Energy Corp.'s own proxy. As printed: 1,898,298. View filing ↗
- Section 10a, W&T Offshore reciprocity. DEF 14A. W&T Offshore names Diversified Energy Co in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗
- Section 10a, Granite Ridge Resources reciprocity. DEF 14A. Granite Ridge Resources names Diversified Energy Co in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗
- Section 10a, Amplify Energy Corp. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Amplify Energy Corp. names Diversified Energy Co in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗
- Section 10a, Ring Energy reciprocity. DEF 14A. Ring Energy names Diversified Energy Co in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗