Velarion · Company Intelligence
Compensation Brief
Fiscal year 2025 · Filings through 2026-04-30

Core Natural Resources (CNR)

Fiscal year 2025 executive and director compensation, incentive-plan design, equity activity, and governance — every figure in this brief is traceable to its exact location in the company’s SEC filing — the document, the section, the page, and the table, linked directly.

$27,246,982
Paul Lang total, FY2025
Former Chief Executive Officerhighest-paid officer; CEO James Brock: $19,445,313
CEO (James Brock) pay percentile vs peers
148:1
CEO-to-median pay ratio
98.15%
Say-on-pay support, latest vote
Companies that benchmark against CNR
1 company names CNR as a compensation peer

Each company listed discloses CNR 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 CNR in an earlier year and no longer does, and one whose own most recent disclosure is older than the last two seasons.

01

Summary Compensation Table — fiscal year 2025

Named executive officerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension / NQDCAll otherTotal
Paul Lang$780,769$0$11,677,388$0$509,231$0$14,279,594$27,246,982
Former Chief Executive Officer
James Brock1,000,000015,922,17602,128,750121,035273,35219,445,313
Chief Executive Officer and Chair
Mitesh Thakkar675,00006,165,9610701,57829,690106,3957,678,624
President and Chief Financial Officer
George Schuller Jr.635,00003,698,2690502,6030236,3865,072,258
Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Rosemary Klein510,00003,329,8670318,8520590,8204,749,539
Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary
Deck Slone500,00003,268,8520324,6000571,8144,665,266
Senior Vice President, Chief External and Government Affairs Officer

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 FY20242025
Paul Lang$27,246,982
James Brock19,445,313
Mitesh Thakkar7,678,624
George Schuller Jr.5,072,258
Rosemary Klein4,749,539
Deck Slone4,665,266

Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.

02

Equity transactions since the proxy statement was filed

No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.

03

Grants of plan-based awards — fiscal year 2025

ExecutiveAwardGrant dateThresholdTargetGrantedMaximumGrant-date fair value
James BrockPSU2025-02-1812,28524,57049,140$2,141,030
James BrockRSU2025-02-1820,1001,579,860
James BrockPSU2025-02-1812,28524,75049,1401,931,202
Rosemary KleinPSU2025-02-183,1356,27012,540492,822
Rosemary KleinPSU2025-02-183,1356,27012,540546,368
Rosemary KleinRSU2025-02-185,130403,218
Paul LangRSU2025-02-1820,1001,579,860
Paul LangPSU2025-02-1812,28524,57049,1401,931,202
Paul LangPSU2025-02-1812,28524,57049,1402,141,030
George Schuller Jr.PSU2025-02-184,5859,17018,340799,074
George Schuller Jr.PSU2025-02-184,5859,17018,340720,762
George Schuller Jr.RSU2025-02-187,500589,500
Deck SlonePSU2025-02-183,0756,15012,300535,911
Deck SlonePSU2025-02-183,0756,15012,300483,390
Deck SloneRSU2025-02-185,030395,358
Mitesh ThakkarPSU2025-02-185,18510,37020,740815,082
Mitesh ThakkarRSU2025-02-188,480666,528
Mitesh ThakkarPSU2025-02-185,18510,37020,740903,642
03b

Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type

Named executive officerTime-vested (RSU)Performance-vested (PSU)Options / SARs% performance-vested
James Brock$1,579,860$4,072,232$072.0%
Rosemary Klein403,2181,039,190072.0%
Paul Lang1,579,8604,072,232072.0%
George Schuller Jr.589,5001,519,836072.1%
Deck Slone395,3581,019,301072.1%
Mitesh Thakkar666,5281,718,724072.1%

% performance-vested = PSU grant-date fair value ÷ (RSU + PSU + Options), a computed value with the derivation shown in the register.

04

Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end 2025

ExecutiveAwardShares unvestedExercise priceMarket value unvested
James BrockPSU49,140$4,349,381
James BrockRSU40,2003,558,102
Mitesh ThakkarPSU20,7401,835,697
George Schuller Jr.PSU18,3401,623,273
Mitesh ThakkarRSU16,9601,501,130
George Schuller Jr.RSU15,0001,327,650
Rosemary KleinPSU12,5401,109,915
Deck SlonePSU12,3001,088,673
Rosemary KleinRSU10,260908,113
Deck SloneRSU10,060890,411
05

Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis

The Core pay philosophy provides for an effective balance in cash and equity, short- and long-term performance periods, and financial and non-financial performance goals, and affords the Compensation Committee discretion to adjust payouts under the Company’s compensation plans.

CEO STI target (% of salary)
CEO LTI target (% of salary)
Independent consultantMercer
Clawback policytrue
Anti-hedging
Anti-pledging
06

Say-on-pay — recent advisory votes

Meeting yearMeeting dateForAgainstAbstainSupportOutcome
20262026-04-3040,057,737753,46652,33698.15%Passed
20252025-04-2942,391,7051,526,22986,32696.52%Passed
20242024-04-3021,793,1561,171,16032,32594.9%Passed
20232023-04-2723,101,1751,306,869152,25194.65%Passed
20222022-04-268,858,28215,938,88852,05035.72%Failed
20212021-04-2823,302,121674,64350,06297.19%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
20262026-04-3098.15%a
20252025-04-2996.52%b
20242024-04-3094.9%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.

07

CEO pay ratio

Ratio (CEO : median employee)148 : 1
CEO total compensation
Median employee compensation$131,400
08

Director compensation — fiscal year 2025

DirectorCash feesStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveAll otherTotal
Richard A. NavarreIndependent · Lead Independent Director · Compensation Committee · Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee (Chair)$220,000$410,000$377,977$1,007,977
Patrick A. KriegshauserIndependent · Audit Committee (Chair) · Health, Safety and Environmental Committee170,000300,000350,155820,155
Holly Keller KoeppelIndependent · Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee · Health, Safety and Environmental Committee (Chair)156,552300,000288,430744,982
Joseph P. PlattIndependent · Audit Committee · Compensation Committee (Chair)170,000352,02853,333575,361
Valli PereraIndependent · Audit Committee · Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee160,000352,02855,000567,028
Cassandra PanIndependent · Health, Safety & Environmental · Compensation · Departed during FY82,500352,02855,000489,528
John T. MillsIndependent · Departed during FY052,02868,333120,361
James A. BrockEmployee director · Board Chair · Nominating and Corporate Governance0
09

Board fee structure and ownership guideline

Annual cash retainer$140,000
Annual equity retainer$150,000
Per board meeting fee
Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov)30,000 / 20,000 / 15,000
Stock ownership guidelineThe Core policies in place to mitigate compensation-related risk include stock ownership guidelines, equity vesting periods, insider trading prohibitions, a clawback policy, caps on the amount of compensation that may be earned, and independent Compensation Committee oversight.
09b

Total cost of the board

ComponentFY2025
Cash retainers and fees$959,052
Equity awards (grant-date value)$2,118,112
All other compensation$1,248,228
Total cost of the board$4,325,392

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

10

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.

Alliance Resource Partners
10b

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
1Core Natural Resources2025James Brock$1,000,000$15,922,176$0$2,128,750$19,445,313

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.

11

Source register

Each figure's location is given both for the eye (section · page · table · row · column) and for a script (table/row/column index and exact character span in the filed document). Any figure can be independently confirmed against the source.

#SupportsDocumentFiledAccessionLocation in document
1Section 01, Paul LangDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 27,246,982. Filing ↗machine: r11 · c45 · span 774194–774204
2Section 01, James BrockDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 19,445,313. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c45 · span 717665–717675
3Section 01, Mitesh ThakkarDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 7,678,624. Filing ↗machine: r5 · c45 · span 735550–735559
4Section 01, George Schuller Jr.DEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 5,072,258. Filing ↗machine: r9 · c45 · span 760229–760238
5Section 01, Rosemary KleinDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 4,749,539. Filing ↗machine: r8 · c45 · span 753479–753488
6Section 01, Deck SloneDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 4,665,266. Filing ↗machine: r10 · c45 · span 766764–766773
7Section 03, James Brock PSUDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 848571–848581
8Section 03, James Brock RSUDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 846083–846093
9Section 03, James Brock PSUDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 853109–853119
10Section 03, Rosemary Klein PSUDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 876981–876989
11Section 03, Rosemary Klein PSUDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 872438–872446
12Section 03, Rosemary Klein RSUDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 869946–869954
13Section 03, Paul Lang RSUDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 905825–905835
14Section 03, Paul Lang PSUDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 913223–913233
15Section 03, Paul Lang PSUDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 908321–908331
16Section 03, George Schuller Jr. PSUDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 884394–884402
17Section 03, George Schuller Jr. PSUDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 888937–888945
18Section 03, George Schuller Jr. RSUDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 881902–881910
19Section 03, Deck Slone PSUDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 896336–896344
20Section 03, Deck Slone PSUDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 900879–900887
21Section 03, Deck Slone RSUDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 893844–893852
22Section 03, Mitesh Thakkar PSUDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 865033–865041
23Section 03, Mitesh Thakkar RSUDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 858016–858024
24Section 03, Mitesh Thakkar PSUDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 860501–860509
25Section 07, pay ratioDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 148 : 1. Filing ↗machine: span 1407632–1407635
26Section 08, Richard A. NavarreDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 1,007,977. Filing ↗machine: span 432249–432259
27Section 08, Patrick A. KriegshauserDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 820,155. Filing ↗machine: span 429099–429107
28Section 08, Holly Keller KoeppelDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 744,982. Filing ↗machine: span 427573–427581
29Section 08, Joseph P. PlattDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 575,361. Filing ↗machine: span 436899–436907
30Section 08, Valli PereraDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 567,028. Filing ↗machine: span 435438–435446
31Section 08, Cassandra PanDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 489,528. Filing ↗machine: span 433882–433890
32Section 08, John T. MillsDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 120,361. Filing ↗machine: span 430730–430738
33Section 08, James A. BrockDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗
34Section 06, 2026 voteForm 8-K2026-04-300001710366-26-000023Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 98.15% (votes for as printed: 40,057,737). Filing ↗
35Section 06, 2025 voteForm 8-K2025-04-300001193125-25-107138Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 96.52% (votes for as printed: 42,391,705). Filing ↗
36Section 06, 2024 voteForm 8-K2024-05-060001193125-24-131996Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 94.9% (votes for as printed: 21,793,156). Filing ↗
37Section 03b vehicle mix (computed)ComputedcomputedRSU / PSU / Options grant-date fair values summed per officer from the grants table; % performance-vested = PSU ÷ (RSU+PSU+Options).machine: formula: sums + PSU ratio
38Section 09b board cost (computed)ComputedcomputedCash 959,052 + equity 2,118,112 + all other 1,248,228 = 4,325,392, summed across the director compensation table rows.machine: formula: Σ = 4,325,392
39Core Natural Resources (subject), Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-160001710366-26-000017CEO total compensation as printed in Core Natural Resources's own proxy. As printed: 19,445,313. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c45 · span 717665–717675