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Companies Helix Energy Solutions Group

Helix Energy Solutions (HLX): executive pay, fiscal 2025

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CEO total pay$5,067,269CEO Owen Kratz · source
Say-on-pay support94.62%Latest vote · source
CEO vs. named peers19th pct.Of 17 peer CEOs
CEO pay ratio57:1To the median employee · source

CEO pay, last three years

  • $7,023,160FY2023
  • $5,675,840FY2024
  • $5,067,269FY2025

CEO total pay was $5,067,269 in fiscal 2025, down from $5,675,840 in fiscal 2024.

FY2025: salary $800,000 · bonus $0 · stock awards $3,838,519 · option awards $0

Executives and directors

Frequently asked questions

Who was the highest-paid executive at Helix Energy Solutions Group in fiscal 2025?
As disclosed, Owen Kratz (President and Chief Executive Officer) was the highest-paid executive at Helix Energy Solutions Group in fiscal 2025, with total compensation of $5,067,269.
How does Helix Energy Solutions Group's chief executive pay compare to its disclosed peer group?
As disclosed, Owen Kratz's total compensation ranked at the 19th percentile of Helix Energy Solutions Group's disclosed peer group.
What is Helix Energy Solutions Group's CEO-to-median employee pay ratio?
As disclosed, Helix Energy Solutions Group's CEO-to-median employee pay ratio was 57:1.
How did shareholders vote on Helix Energy Solutions Group's executive compensation?
As disclosed, 94.62% of shareholders supported Helix Energy Solutions Group's executive compensation in the latest say-on-pay vote.
How much does Helix Energy Solutions Group spend in total on board compensation for fiscal 2025?
As disclosed, Helix Energy Solutions Group reported total board compensation of $1,785,845 for fiscal 2025.

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 officerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension / NQDCAll otherTotal
Owen Kratz$800,000$0$3,838,519$0$420,000$0$8,750$5,067,269
President and Chief Executive Officer
Erik Staffeldt460,00001,578,0550161,00008,7502,207,805
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Scotty Sparks460,00001,466,0990161,000002,087,099
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Ken Neikirk420,00001,012,9490147,00008,7501,588,699
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

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 officerFY2025 totalFY2024 totalFY2023 totalΔ FY2024→2025
Owen Kratz$5,067,269$5,675,840$7,023,160↓ −608,571
Erik Staffeldt2,207,8052,211,3222,704,514↓ −3,517
Scotty Sparks2,087,0992,320,2692,836,687↓ −233,170
Ken Neikirk1,588,6991,756,5262,198,129↓ −167,827

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

Helix's compensation program is based on the philosophy that our executive management team should be aligned with our shareholders, and that our executives should be incentivized and rewarded for performance that advances our business goals and the creation of sustainable value in all business cycles, leading to shareholder value creation.

CEO STI target (% of salary)150%
CEO LTI target (% of salary)—
Independent consultantWTW (Willis Towers Watson)
Clawback policyTrue
Anti-hedgingTrue
Anti-pledgingFalse
Equity grants and outstanding awards

Grants of plan-based awards — fiscal year 2025

ExecutiveAwardGrant dateThresholdTargetGrantedMaximumGrant-date fair value
Erik StaffeldtPSU2025-01-011,28179,399—158,798$838,056
Ken NeikirkPSU2025-01-0182250,966—101,932537,946
Scotty SparksPSU2025-01-011,19073,766—147,532778,600
Scotty SparksRSU2025-01-01——73,766—687,499
Owen KratzPSU2025-01-013,115193,133—386,2662,038,519
Owen KratzRSU2025-01-01——193,133—1,800,000
Ken NeikirkRSU2025-01-01——50,966—475,003
Erik StaffeldtRSU2025-01-01——79,399—739,999

Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type

Named executive officerTime-vested (RSU)Performance-vested (PSU)Options / SARs% performance-vested
Erik Staffeldt$739,999$838,056$053.1%
Ken Neikirk475,003537,946053.1%
Scotty Sparks687,499778,600053.1%
Owen Kratz1,800,0002,038,519053.1%

% 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

ExecutiveAwardShares unvestedExercise priceMarket value unvested
Ken NeikirkRSU21,455—$134,523
Erik StaffeldtRSU29,359—184,081
Ken NeikirkRSU30,804—193,141
Scotty SparksRSU31,053—194,702
Erik StaffeldtRSU42,154—264,306
Scotty SparksRSU44,585—279,548
Ken NeikirkPSU46,206—289,712
Ken NeikirkRSU50,966—319,557
Ken NeikirkPSU50,966—319,557
Erik StaffeldtPSU63,230—396,452
Ken NeikirkPSU64,363—403,556
Scotty SparksPSU66,877—419,319
Scotty SparksRSU73,766—462,513
Scotty SparksPSU73,766—462,513
Erik StaffeldtRSU79,399—497,832
Erik StaffeldtPSU79,399—497,832
Owen KratzRSU81,301—509,757
Erik StaffeldtPSU88,076—552,237
Scotty SparksPSU93,157—584,094
Owen KratzRSU116,732—731,910
Owen KratzPSU175,097—1,097,858
Owen KratzRSU193,133—1,210,944
Owen KratzPSU193,133—1,210,944
Owen KratzPSU243,902—1,529,266
Director compensation
DirectorCash feesStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveAll otherTotal
William L. TransierIndependent · Board Chair · Audit$256,250$150,000$0—$0$406,250
John V. LovoiIndependent · Audit · Compensation (Chair)145,244150,0000—0295,244
Amy H. NelsonIndependent · Audit (Chair)129,294150,0000—0279,294
T. Mitch LittleIndependent · Compensation125,000150,0000—0275,000
Paula HarrisIndependent · Compensation90,000178,1280—0268,128
Diana GlassmanIndependent · Audit111,929150,0000—0261,929
Owen KratzEmployee director000—00

Board fee structure and ownership guideline

Annual cash retainer$70,000
Annual equity retainer$150,000
Per board meeting fee—
Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov)20,000 / 20,000 / 20,000
Stock ownership guideline—

Total cost of the board

ComponentFY2025
Cash retainers and fees$857,717
Equity awards (grant-date value)$928,128
All other compensation$0
Total cost of the board$1,785,845

Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.

Peer group, and who names Helix Energy Solutions as a peer

Companies that benchmark against HLX

25 companies name HLX as a compensation peer

Each company listed discloses HLX 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 HLX 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 Helix Energy Solutions Group 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.

RankCompanyFYChief executiveSalaryStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveTotal
1Nabors Industries Ltd.2025Anthony Petrello$1,750,000$5,352,354$0$2,049,275$29,636,103
2Weatherford International plc2025Girishchandra Saligram1,254,8089,969,03501,735,29613,022,298
3NOV Inc.2025Clay Williams1,000,0009,576,940899,2081,129,49212,713,187
4Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc.2025William Hendricks1,300,0008,497,99102,264,33012,077,321
5Archrock, Inc.2025D. Bradley Childers944,2316,037,304—1,985,3639,037,610
6Helmerich & Payne, Inc.2025John Lindsay1,179,9095,749,95701,559,0169,010,799
7Transocean Ltd.2025Keelan Adamson933,3335,771,95701,820,0008,793,715
8Oceaneering International, Inc.2025Roderick Larson910,0002,027,79604,282,4257,735,670
9Expro Group Holdings NV2024Michael Jardon1,000,0005,246,0720690,6256,962,497
10ProPetro Holding Corp.2025Samuel Sledge975,0004,391,41001,137,5006,539,712
11Forum Energy Technologies, Inc.2025Neal Lux717,7694,232,10501,196,4636,163,337
12Tetra Technologies, Inc.2025Brady Murphy735,0001,325,33303,061,8255,133,908
13Oil States International, Inc.2025Cindy Taylor925,0002,400,00301,654,2445,079,386
14Helix Energy Solutions Group2025Owen Kratz800,0003,838,5190420,0005,067,269
15Core Laboratories Inc.2025Lawrence Bruno886,9123,505,1050351,2174,980,491
16Select Water Solutions, Inc.2025John Schmitz800,0003,245,5260681,3524,876,029
17RPC, Inc.2025Ben Palmer618,0001,388,26501,155,6603,192,075
—Newpark Resources, Inc.——————not in coverage universe

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

CompanyAnnual incentive payoutLong-term vehicle mixPSU measures include TSRCompensation consultant
Helix Energy Solutions Group35%PSU 50 · RSU 50Yes — TSR relative to performance peer groupWTW (Willis Towers Watson)
Archrock, Inc.not disclosedRSU 50 · PRSU 50not disclosedPearl Meyer
Core Laboratories Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
Expro Group Holdings NVnot disclosedPRSU 60 · RSU 40Yes — Total Shareholder Return (TSR)Meridian Consultants, LLC
Forum Energy Technologies, Inc.not disclosedPSU 50 · RSU 50not disclosedMeridian Compensation Partners, LLC
Helmerich & Payne, Inc.109.09%PSU 50 · RSU 50Yes — Total Stockholder Return (TSR)Willis Towers Watson
Nabors Industries Ltd.not disclosednot disclosedYes — Relative Total Shareholder Return (TSR)Pay Governance
Newpark Resources, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
NOV Inc.87%PSU 50 · RSU 40 · Options 10Yes — TSR (total shareholder return) goalMeridian Compensation Partners
Oceaneering International, Inc.124%not disclosedYes — Relative TSRMeridian Compensation Partners, LLC
Oil States International, Inc.not disclosedRSU 50 · PRSU 25 · Cash Performance Award 25not disclosedMeridian Compensation Partners
Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc.not disclosedPSU 50 · RSU 50Yes — Total Stockholder Return (TSR)Pay Governance LLC
ProPetro Holding Corp.not disclosedRSU 50 · PSU 50not disclosedPearl Meyer
RPC, Inc.187%RSU 75 · PSU 25NoMercer, LLC
Select Water Solutions, Inc.88.1%RSU 50 · PSU 50Yes — Relative Total Shareholder Return (TSR)Meridian Compensation Partners
Tetra Technologies, Inc.not disclosedRSU 50 · LTIP Units 50not disclosedPay Governance LLC
Transocean Ltd.not disclosedPSU 50 · RSU 50NoPay Governance LLC
Weatherford International plc92.3%PSU 75 · RSU 25NoLB&Co.

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 yearMeeting dateForAgainstAbstainSupportOutcome
20262026-05-13116,003,8016,593,429410,19394.62%Passed
20252025-05-14118,962,7158,415,187303,89993.39%Passed
20242024-05-15120,093,6195,856,571514,95395.35%Passed
20232023-05-17115,460,9247,917,080828,46193.58%Passed
20222022-05-18121,874,4432,052,564782,86698.34%Passed
20212021-05-19121,178,5931,684,514291,44798.63%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 yearMeeting dateApproval — company’s computation
20262026-05-1394.62%a
20252025-05-1493.39%b
20242024-05-1595.35%c

a. Voting standard not stated in the filing.

b. Voting standard not stated in the filing.

c. Voting standard not stated in the filing.

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.

CEO pay ratio

Ratio (CEO : median employee)57 : 1
CEO total compensation$5,067,269
Median employee compensation$88,825
Insider trades since the proxy

No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.

Sources (49 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, Owen Kratz. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 53. As printed: 5,067,269. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Erik Staffeldt. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 53. As printed: 2,207,805. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Scotty Sparks. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 53. As printed: 2,087,099. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Ken Neikirk. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 53. As printed: 1,588,699. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Erik Staffeldt PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Grant of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Ken Neikirk PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Grant of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Scotty Sparks PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Grant of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Scotty Sparks RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Grant of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Owen Kratz PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Grant of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Owen Kratz RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Grant of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Ken Neikirk RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Grant of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Erik Staffeldt RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Grant of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 07, pay ratio. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 57 : 1. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, William L. Transier. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 406,250. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, John V. Lovoi. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 295,244. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Amy H. Nelson. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 279,294. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, T. Mitch Little. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 275,000. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Paula Harris. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 268,128. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Diana Glassman. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 261,929. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Owen Kratz. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
  • Section 06, 2026 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2026-05-13. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 94.62% (votes for as printed: 116,003,801). View filing ↗
  • Section 06, 2025 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2025-05-14. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 93.39% (votes for as printed: 118,962,715). View filing ↗
  • Section 06, 2024 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2024-05-15. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 95.35% (votes for as printed: 120,093,619). 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 857,717 + equity 928,128 + all other 0 = 1,785,845, summed across the director compensation table rows.
  • Nabors Industries Ltd., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-22. CEO total compensation as printed in Nabors Industries Ltd.'s own proxy. As printed: 29,636,103. View filing ↗
  • Weatherford International plc, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-21. CEO total compensation as printed in Weatherford International plc's own proxy. As printed: 13,022,298. View filing ↗
  • NOV Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-09. CEO total compensation as printed in NOV Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 12,713,187. View filing ↗
  • Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-13. CEO total compensation as printed in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 12,077,321. View filing ↗
  • Archrock, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. CEO total compensation as printed in Archrock, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 9,037,610. View filing ↗
  • Helmerich & Payne, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-01-22. CEO total compensation as printed in Helmerich & Payne, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 9,010,799. View filing ↗
  • Transocean Ltd., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-31. CEO total compensation as printed in Transocean Ltd.'s own proxy. As printed: 8,793,715. View filing ↗
  • Oceaneering International, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-02. CEO total compensation as printed in Oceaneering International, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 7,735,670. View filing ↗
  • Expro Group Holdings NV, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-11. CEO total compensation as printed in Expro Group Holdings NV's own proxy. As printed: 6,962,497. View filing ↗
  • ProPetro Holding Corp., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-08. CEO total compensation as printed in ProPetro Holding Corp.'s own proxy. As printed: 6,539,712. View filing ↗
  • Forum Energy Technologies, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-27. CEO total compensation as printed in Forum Energy Technologies, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 6,163,337. View filing ↗
  • Tetra Technologies, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-09. CEO total compensation as printed in Tetra Technologies, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 5,133,908. View filing ↗
  • Oil States International, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-27. CEO total compensation as printed in Oil States International, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 5,079,386. View filing ↗
  • Helix Energy Solutions Group (subject), Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. CEO total compensation as printed in Helix Energy Solutions Group's own proxy. As printed: 5,067,269. View filing ↗
  • Core Laboratories Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-31. CEO total compensation as printed in Core Laboratories Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 4,980,491. View filing ↗
  • Select Water Solutions, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. CEO total compensation as printed in Select Water Solutions, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 4,876,029. View filing ↗
  • RPC, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-18. CEO total compensation as printed in RPC, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 3,192,075. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Oil States International, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Oil States International, Inc. names Helix Energy Solutions Group in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Core Laboratories Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Core Laboratories Inc. names Helix Energy Solutions Group in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Archrock, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Archrock, Inc. names Helix Energy Solutions Group in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Oceaneering International, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Oceaneering International, Inc. names Helix Energy Solutions Group in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Expro Group Holdings N.V. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Expro Group Holdings N.V. names Helix Energy Solutions Group in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Helmerich & Payne, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. names Helix Energy Solutions Group in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗
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