Companies Berry Corp (bry)
Berry Corp (bry) (BRY): executive pay, fiscal 2024
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CEO pay, last three years
- $2,579,579FY2022
- $3,392,101FY2023
- $3,662,895FY2024
CEO total pay was $3,662,895 in fiscal 2024, up from $3,392,101 in fiscal 2023.
FY2024: salary $550,000 · bonus $0 · stock awards $2,499,494 · option awards $0
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fernando Araujo | $550,000 | $0 | $2,499,494 | $0 | $564,850 | $0 | $48,551 | $3,662,895 |
| Chief Executive Officer | ||||||||
| Danielle Hunter | 475,000 | 0 | 1,533,785 | 0 | 487,825 | 0 | 33,966 | 2,530,576 |
| President | ||||||||
| Michael Helm | 395,000 | 0 | 658,962 | 0 | 316,632 | 0 | 35,854 | 1,406,448 |
| VP Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer | ||||||||
| A. Trem Smith | 137,500 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166,013 | 303,513 |
| Former Executive Chair of the Board | ||||||||
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 | FY2024 total | FY2023 total | FY2022 total | Δ FY2023→2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fernando Araujo | $3,662,895 | $3,392,101 | $2,579,579 | ↑ +270,794 |
| Danielle Hunter | 2,530,576 | 2,614,698 | — | ↓ −84,122 |
| Michael Helm | 1,406,448 | 1,253,479 | — | ↑ +152,969 |
| A. Trem Smith | 303,513 | 4,580,884 | 5,966,406 | ↓ −4,277,371 |
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 attract, retain, and motivate highly qualified executives by providing a competitive total compensation package that aligns executive interests with stockholder returns. A pay-for-performance philosophy underpins the program, with a majority of total compensation at risk and tied to key financial, operational, and strategic performance objectives and total shareholder return.
| CEO STI target (% of salary) | — |
|---|---|
| CEO LTI target (% of salary) | — |
| Independent consultant | Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC |
| Clawback policy | true |
| Anti-hedging | true |
| Anti-pledging | true |
Equity grants and outstanding awards
Grants of plan-based awards — fiscal year 2024
| Executive | Award | Grant date | Threshold | Target | Granted | Maximum | Grant-date fair value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fernando Araujo | PSU | 2024-03-01 | — | 92,437 | — | 184,874 | $769,076 |
| Michael Helm | RSU | 2024-03-01 | — | — | 32,493 | — | 233,950 |
| Michael Helm | PSU | 2024-03-01 | — | 24,370 | — | 48,740 | 222,254 |
| Danielle Hunter | RSU | 2024-03-01 | — | — | 75,630 | — | 544,536 |
| Danielle Hunter | PSU | 2024-03-01 | — | 56,723 | — | 113,446 | 517,314 |
| Fernando Araujo | PSU | 2024-03-01 | — | 92,437 | — | 184,874 | 843,025 |
| Fernando Araujo | RSU | 2024-03-01 | — | — | 123,249 | — | 887,393 |
| Michael Helm | PSU | 2024-03-01 | — | 24,370 | — | 48,740 | 202,758 |
| Danielle Hunter | PSU | 2024-03-01 | — | 56,723 | — | 113,446 | 471,935 |
Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type
| Named executive officer | Time-vested (RSU) | Performance-vested (PSU) | Options / SARs | % performance-vested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fernando Araujo | $887,393 | $1,612,101 | $0 | 64.5% |
| Michael Helm | 233,950 | 425,012 | 0 | 64.5% |
| Danielle Hunter | 544,536 | 989,249 | 0 | 64.5% |
% 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 2024
| Executive | Award | Shares unvested | Exercise price | Market value unvested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Helm | PSU | 11,351 | — | $46,880 |
| Michael Helm | PSU | 12,185 | — | 50,324 |
| Michael Helm | RSU | 12,335 | — | 50,944 |
| Michael Helm | RSU | 13,453 | — | 55,561 |
| Danielle Hunter | RSU | 19,101 | — | 78,887 |
| Fernando Araujo | RSU | 21,573 | — | 89,096 |
| Danielle Hunter | PSU | 28,362 | — | 117,135 |
| Michael Helm | RSU | 32,493 | — | 134,196 |
| Danielle Hunter | PSU | 34,053 | — | 140,639 |
| Danielle Hunter | RSU | 40,359 | — | 166,683 |
| Fernando Araujo | PSU | 46,219 | — | 190,884 |
| Fernando Araujo | PSU | 50,455 | — | 208,379 |
| Danielle Hunter | PSU | 57,375 | — | 236,959 |
| Fernando Araujo | RSU | 59,798 | — | 246,966 |
| Fernando Araujo | PSU | 64,800 | — | 267,624 |
| Danielle Hunter | RSU | 75,630 | — | 312,352 |
| Fernando Araujo | RSU | 123,249 | — | 509,018 |
Director compensation
| Director | Cash fees | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Renée HornbakerIndependent · Board Chair · Audit (Chair) · Human Capital & Compensation · Nominating and Governance | $235,033 | $221,846 | — | — | — | $456,879 |
| Anne MariucciIndependent · Audit · Human Capital & Compensation (Chair) · Nominating and Governance | 127,533 | 151,258 | — | — | — | 278,791 |
| Rajath ShourieIndependent · Audit · Human Capital & Compensation | 111,700 | 151,258 | — | — | — | 262,958 |
| James TrimbleIndependent · Audit · Human Capital & Compensation · Nominating and Governance (Chair) | 107,159 | 151,258 | — | — | — | 258,417 |
| Donald PaulIndependent · Not standing for re-election | 102,534 | 151,258 | — | — | — | 253,792 |
| Matthew BobIndependent · Human Capital & Compensation · Nominating and Governance | 21,875 | 27,205 | — | — | — | 49,080 |
Board fee structure and ownership guideline
| Annual cash retainer | $75,000 |
|---|---|
| Annual equity retainer | $150,000 |
| Per board meeting fee | $1,200 |
| Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov) | 20,000 / 15,000 / 10,000 |
| Stock ownership guideline | $5 |
Total cost of the board
| Component | FY2024 |
|---|---|
| Cash retainers and fees | $705,834 |
| Equity awards (grant-date value) | $854,083 |
| All other compensation | $0 |
| Total cost of the board | $1,559,917 |
Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.
Peer group, and who names Berry Corp (bry) as a peer
Companies that benchmark against BRY
3 companies name BRY as a compensation peer
- NORTHERN OIL & GAS, INC.NOGFY2025
- TALOS ENERGY INC.TALOFY2025
- W&T OFFSHORE INCWTIFY2025
Each company listed discloses BRY 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 BRY 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 2024
The compensation peer group as the company disclosed it in its own proxy — the reference set behind the percentile above.
Peer reciprocity
The companies Berry Corp (bry) 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 | California Resources Corporation | 2025 | Francisco Leon | $930,769 | $9,070,699 | $0 | $1,459,200 | $12,076,766 |
| 2 | Talos Energy Inc. | 2025 | Paul Goodfellow | 819,555 | 6,513,948 | 0 | 1,870,781 | 9,351,093 |
| 3 | Earthstone Energy, Inc. | 2024 | Jason Pigott | 828,269 | 6,404,790 | 0 | 868,647 | 8,141,620 |
| 4 | Magnolia Oil & Gas Corporation | 2025 | Christopher Stavros | 870,192 | 4,314,309 | 0 | 1,480,500 | 6,693,001 |
| 5 | W&T Offshore Inc. | 2025 | Tracy Krohn | 800,000 | 4,317,289 | 0 | 967,200 | 6,183,187 |
| 6 | Riley Exploration Permian, Inc. | 2025 | Bobby Riley | 675,000 | 3,914,725 | 0 | 742,000 | 5,782,259 |
| 7 | Northern Oil and Gas | 2025 | Nicholas O'Grady | 925,000 | 2,815,683 | 0 | 1,638,564 | 5,602,413 |
| 8 | Berry Corp (bry) | 2024 | Fernando Araujo | 550,000 | 2,499,494 | 0 | 564,850 | 3,662,895 |
| 9 | Ring Energy, Inc. | 2025 | Paul McKinney | 626,667 | 1,473,306 | 0 | 753,984 | 2,884,957 |
| 10 | HighPeak Energy, Inc. | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berry Corp (bry) | not disclosed | PSU 60 · RSU 40 | not disclosed | Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC |
| Amplify Energy Corp. | not disclosed | PSU 50 · RSU 50 | not disclosed | Meridian |
| California Resources Corporation | not disclosed | PSU 60 · RSU 40 | not disclosed | Lyons Benenson & Company Inc. |
| Earthstone Energy, Inc. | not disclosed | RSU 50 · PSU 50 | not disclosed | Willis Towers Watson |
| HighPeak Energy, Inc. | not disclosed | RSU 100 | not disclosed | Pearl Meyer & Partners, LLC |
| Magnolia Oil & Gas Corporation | not disclosed | RSU 50 · PSU 50 | not disclosed | FW Cook |
| Northern Oil and Gas | 136.5% | MSU 88 · RSU 12 | Yes — 3-Year Absolute TSR | Willis Towers Watson |
| Riley Exploration Permian, Inc. | not disclosed | RSU 70 · PRSU 30 | not disclosed | Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC |
| Ring Energy, Inc. | not disclosed | PSU 60 · RSU 40 | not disclosed | Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC |
| Talos Energy Inc. | not disclosed | RSU 50 · PSU 50 | not disclosed | Meridian |
| W&T Offshore Inc. | 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
No say-on-pay vote is on file for this company.
CEO pay ratio
| Ratio (CEO : median employee) | 40 : 1 |
|---|---|
| CEO total compensation | $3,662,895 |
| Median employee compensation | $92,174 |
Insider trades since the proxy
No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.
Sources (37 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, Fernando Araujo. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-07. Section “Executive Compensation” · page 58. As printed: 3,662,895. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Danielle Hunter. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-07. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 2,530,576. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Michael Helm. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-07. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 1,406,448. View filing ↗
- Section 01, A. Trem Smith. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-07. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 303,513. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Fernando Araujo PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-07. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Michael Helm RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-07. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Michael Helm PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-07. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Danielle Hunter RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-07. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Danielle Hunter PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-07. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Fernando Araujo PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-07. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Fernando Araujo RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-07. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Michael Helm PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-07. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Danielle Hunter PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-07. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 07, pay ratio. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-07. Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 40 : 1. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Renée Hornbaker. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-07. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 456,879. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Anne Mariucci. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-07. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 278,791. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Rajath Shourie. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-07. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 262,958. View filing ↗
- Section 08, James Trimble. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-07. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 258,417. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Donald Paul. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-07. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 253,792. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Matthew Bob. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-07. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 49,080. 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 705,834 + equity 854,083 + all other 0 = 1,559,917, summed across the director compensation table rows.
- California Resources Corporation, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-18. CEO total compensation as printed in California Resources Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 12,076,766. 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 ↗
- Earthstone Energy, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-10. CEO total compensation as printed in Earthstone Energy, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 8,141,620. View filing ↗
- Magnolia Oil & Gas Corporation, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. CEO total compensation as printed in Magnolia Oil & Gas Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 6,693,001. View filing ↗
- W&T Offshore Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. CEO total compensation as printed in W&T Offshore Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 6,183,187. View filing ↗
- Riley Exploration Permian, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. CEO total compensation as printed in Riley Exploration Permian, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 5,782,259. 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 ↗
- Berry Corp (bry) (subject), Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-07. CEO total compensation as printed in Berry Corp (bry)'s own proxy. As printed: 3,662,895. View filing ↗
- Ring Energy, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. CEO total compensation as printed in Ring Energy, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 2,884,957. View filing ↗
- HighPeak Energy, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-30. CEO total compensation as printed in HighPeak Energy, Inc.'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, Talos Energy Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Talos Energy Inc. names Berry Corp (bry) in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗
- Section 10a, Northern Oil and Gas reciprocity. DEF 14A. Northern Oil and Gas names Berry Corp (bry) in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗
- Section 10a, W&T Offshore Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. W&T Offshore Inc. names Berry Corp (bry) in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗