CEO Martin Kropelnicki was paid $6,875,256 in fiscal year 2025, ↑ up 43.1% from fiscal year 2024, the 85th percentile of its disclosed peer group (SEC filing 0001104659-26-040708 ↗): 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.
$6,875,256 ↑ Martin Kropelnicki total, FY2025 | 85th CEO pay percentile vs peers | — CEO-to-median pay ratio | 94.87% Say-on-pay support, latest vote |
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CWT's next annual pay disclosure, estimated March 31, 2027.est. Filing ↗
| Named executive officer | Salary | Bonus | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Pension / NQDC | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martin Kropelnicki | $1,080,688 | $0 | $1,950,119 | $0 | $1,524,915 | $2,254,426 | $65,108 | $6,875,256 |
| Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer | ||||||||
| James Lynch | 488,294 | 0 | 272,015 | 0 | 275,684 | 479,826 | 47,466 | 1,563,285 |
| Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer | ||||||||
| Shannon Dean | 346,646 | 0 | 272,015 | 0 | 195,708 | 625,723 | 47,358 | 1,487,450 |
| Senior Vice President, Customer Service & Chief Sustainability Officer | ||||||||
| Michael Luu | 464,787 | 0 | 272,015 | 0 | 262,373 | 276,421 | 48,300 | 1,323,896 |
| Senior Vice President, Corporate Services & Chief Risk Officer | ||||||||
| Shawn Bunting | 434,324 | 0 | 272,015 | 0 | 245,171 | 244,878 | 58,698 | 1,255,086 |
| Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Business Development | ||||||||
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.
| Named executive officer | FY2025 total | FY2024 total | FY2023 total | Δ FY2024→2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martin Kropelnicki | $6,875,256 | $4,803,389 | $4,856,752 | ↑ +2,071,867 |
| James Lynch | 1,563,285 | 1,442,429 | — | ↑ +120,856 |
| Shannon Dean | 1,487,450 | 926,331 | — | ↑ +561,119 |
| Michael Luu | 1,323,896 | 1,048,896 | 1,051,459 | ↑ +275,000 |
| Shawn Bunting | 1,255,086 | 1,177,501 | 816,244 | ↑ +77,585 |
Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.
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Each company listed discloses CWT 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 CWT in an earlier year and no longer does, and one whose own most recent disclosure is older than the last two seasons.
One page per director: the seat, the committees and the fee table, read for one person at a time.
| Director | Role | FY2025 total |
|---|---|---|
| Carol M. Pottenger | Independent Director | $241,178 |
| Charles R. Patton | Chair of the Board | $241,178 |
| Gregory E. Aliff | Independent Director | $266,178 |
| Jeffrey Kightlinger | Independent Director | $241,178 |
| Lester A. Snow | Independent Director | $256,178 |
| Patricia K. Wagner | Independent Director | $256,178 |
| Scott L. Morris | Lead Independent Director | $296,178 |
| Shelly M. Esque | Independent Director | $241,178 |
| Thomas M. Krummel, M.D | Independent Director | $261,178 |
| Yvonne A. Maldonado, M.D | Independent Director | $241,178 |
No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.
| Executive | Award | Grant date | Threshold | Target | Granted | Maximum | Grant-date fair value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shawn Bunting | PSU | 2025-03-04 | 2,094 | 4,188 | — | 8,376 | $195,035 |
| Shawn Bunting | RSU | 2025-03-04 | — | — | 1,653 | — | 76,980 |
| Shannon Dean | PSU | 2025-03-04 | 2,094 | 4,188 | — | 8,376 | 195,035 |
| Martin Kropelnicki | PSU | 2025-03-04 | 15,780 | 31,560 | — | 63,120 | 1,469,749 |
| Michael Luu | RSU | 2025-03-04 | — | — | 1,653 | — | 76,980 |
| James Lynch | PSU | 2025-03-04 | 2,094 | 4,188 | — | 8,376 | 195,035 |
| James Lynch | RSU | 2025-03-04 | — | — | 1,653 | — | 76,980 |
| Shannon Dean | RSU | 2025-03-04 | — | — | 1,653 | — | 76,980 |
| Martin Kropelnicki | RSU | 2025-03-04 | — | — | 10,080 | — | 480,370 |
| Michael Luu | PSU | 2025-03-04 | 2,094 | 4,188 | — | 8,376 | 195,035 |
| Named executive officer | Time-vested (RSU) | Performance-vested (PSU) | Options / SARs | % performance-vested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shawn Bunting | $76,980 | $195,035 | $0 | 71.7% |
| Shannon Dean | 76,980 | 195,035 | 0 | 71.7% |
| Martin Kropelnicki | 480,370 | 1,469,749 | 0 | 75.4% |
| Michael Luu | 76,980 | 195,035 | 0 | 71.7% |
| James Lynch | 76,980 | 195,035 | 0 | 71.7% |
% performance-vested = PSU grant-date fair value ÷ (RSU + PSU + Options), a computed value with the derivation shown in the register.
| Executive | Award | Shares unvested | Exercise price | Market value unvested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shawn Bunting | RSU | 1,653 | — | $71,624 |
| Shawn Bunting | RSU | 672 | — | 29,118 |
| Shawn Bunting | PSU | 1,630 | — | 70,628 |
| Michael Luu | RSU | 1,653 | — | 71,624 |
| Martin Kropelnicki | PSU | 31,560 | — | 1,367,495 |
| Michael Luu | PSU | 3,016 | — | 130,683 |
| Michael Luu | PSU | 444 | — | 19,239 |
| Martin Kropelnicki | PSU | 26,535 | — | 1,149,762 |
| Martin Kropelnicki | PSU | 14,144 | — | 612,860 |
| Martin Kropelnicki | RSU | 10,315 | — | 446,949 |
| Martin Kropelnicki | RSU | 4,200 | — | 181,986 |
| James Lynch | PSU | 4,188 | — | 181,466 |
| Michael Luu | PSU | 4,188 | — | 181,466 |
| Shawn Bunting | PSU | 4,188 | — | 181,466 |
| Shannon Dean | PSU | 4,188 | — | 181,466 |
| James Lynch | PSU | 3,016 | — | 130,683 |
| James Lynch | RSU | 1,653 | — | 71,624 |
| Shawn Bunting | PSU | 3,016 | — | 130,683 |
| Shannon Dean | PSU | 3,016 | — | 130,683 |
| Michael Luu | PSU | 1,955 | — | 84,710 |
| Shannon Dean | PSU | 1,995 | — | 84,710 |
| Shannon Dean | RSU | 1,653 | — | 71,624 |
| James Lynch | RSU | 672 | — | 29,118 |
| Michael Luu | RSU | 672 | — | 29,118 |
| Shannon Dean | RSU | 672 | — | 29,118 |
| Martin Kropelnicki | RSU | 656 | — | 28,424 |
| Michael Luu | RSU | 105 | — | 4,550 |
| Shannon Dean | RSU | 105 | — | 4,550 |
| Shawn Bunting | RSU | 87 | — | 3,770 |
Our executive compensation programs are designed to attract, motivate, and retain key officers with the ultimate goal of generating strong operating results and creating long-term alignment with our stockholders and customers. We reward for excellent job performance, overall leadership, long-term results, and provide for fair, reasonable, and competitive total compensation.
| CEO STI target (% of salary) | NaN% |
|---|---|
| CEO LTI target (% of salary) | — |
| Independent consultant | Meridian Compensation Partners |
| Clawback policy | true |
| Anti-hedging | false |
| Anti-pledging | false |
| Meeting year | Meeting date | For | Against | Abstain | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-05-20 | 46,971,099 | 2,539,067 | 198,318 | 94.87% | Passed |
| 2025 | 2025-05-28 | 32,524,231 | 15,671,224 | 192,963 | 67.48% | Passed |
| 2024 | 2024-05-29 | 46,178,612 | 1,866,216 | 161,220 | 95.79% | Passed |
| 2023 | 2023-05-31 | 44,409,824 | 1,596,800 | 193,096 | 96.13% | Passed |
| 2022 | 2022-05-25 | 39,361,252 | 3,402,509 | 199,096 | 91.62% | Passed |
| 2021 | 2021-05-26 | 36,953,393 | 2,619,749 | 245,192 | 92.81% | 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.
| Meeting year | Meeting date | Approval — company's computation |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-05-20 | 94.87%a |
| 2025 | 2025-05-28 | 67.48%b |
| 2024 | 2024-05-29 | 95.79%c |
a. Voting standard not stated in the filing.
b. Voting standard not stated in the filing.
c. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Majority of Shares Present in Person or Represented by Proxy and Entitled to Vote on 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.
| Director | Cash fees | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott L. MorrisIndependent · Lead Independent Director · Compensation · Nominating/Governance (Chair) · Audit | $173,000 | $123,178 | $0 | — | $0 | $296,178 |
| Gregory E. AliffIndependent · Audit (Chair) · Risk · Finance and Capital Investment | 143,000 | 123,178 | 0 | — | 0 | 266,178 |
| Thomas M. Krummel, M.DIndependent · Compensation (Chair) · Nominating/Governance | 138,000 | 123,178 | 0 | — | 0 | 261,178 |
| Lester A. SnowIndependent · Compensation · Risk (Chair) · Finance and Capital Investment · Committee Chair (Chair) | 133,000 | 123,178 | 0 | — | 0 | 256,178 |
| Patricia K. WagnerIndependent · Audit · Compensation · Finance and Capital Investment · Committee Member | 133,000 | 123,178 | 0 | — | 0 | 256,178 |
| Shelly M. EsqueIndependent · Risk · Nominating/Governance | 118,000 | 123,178 | 0 | — | 0 | 241,178 |
| Yvonne A. Maldonado, M.DIndependent · Risk · Nominating/Governance | 118,000 | 123,178 | 0 | — | 0 | 241,178 |
| Charles R. PattonIndependent · Board Chair · Audit · Finance and Capital Investment (Chair) · Chairman of the Board (Chair) | 118,000 | 123,178 | 0 | — | 0 | 241,178 |
| Jeffrey KightlingerIndependent · Audit · Risk | 118,000 | 123,178 | 0 | — | 0 | 241,178 |
| Carol M. PottengerIndependent · Risk · Finance and Capital Investment · Nominating/Governance · Lead Independent Director | 118,000 | 123,178 | 0 | — | 0 | 241,178 |
| Martin A. KropelnickiEmployee director · Audit | — | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| Annual cash retainer | $118,000 |
|---|---|
| Annual equity retainer | $120,000 |
| Per board meeting fee | — |
| Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov) | 25,000 / 20,000 / 15,000 |
| Stock ownership guideline | rements for non-employee directors annually. All non-employee directors and officers are in compliance with this requirement. |
| Component | FY2025 |
|---|---|
| Cash retainers and fees | $1,310,000 |
| Equity awards (grant-date value) | $1,231,780 |
| All other compensation | $0 |
| Total cost of the board | $2,541,780 |
Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.
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 Water Service Group | 2025 | Martin Kropelnicki | $1,080,688 | $1,950,119 | $0 | $1,524,915 | $6,875,256 |
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.
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.
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.
| # | Supports | Document | Filed | Accession | Location in document |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Section 01, Martin Kropelnicki | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001104659-26-040708 | Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 6,875,256. Filing ↗machine: r1 · c49 · span 2165398–2165407 |
| 2 | Section 01, James Lynch | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001104659-26-040708 | Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 1,563,285. Filing ↗machine: r4 · c49 · span 2183734–2183743 |
| 3 | Section 01, Shannon Dean | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001104659-26-040708 | Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 1,487,450. Filing ↗machine: r12 · c49 · span 2234545–2234554 |
| 4 | Section 01, Michael Luu | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001104659-26-040708 | Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 1,323,896. Filing ↗machine: r6 · c49 · span 2196745–2196754 |
| 5 | Section 01, Shawn Bunting | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001104659-26-040708 | Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 1,255,086. Filing ↗machine: r9 · c49 · span 2214949–2214958 |
| 6 | Section 03, Shawn Bunting PSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001104659-26-040708 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards for Fiscal Year Ended 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗ |
| 7 | Section 03, Shawn Bunting RSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001104659-26-040708 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards for Fiscal Year Ended 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗ |
| 8 | Section 03, Shannon Dean PSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001104659-26-040708 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards for Fiscal Year Ended 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗ |
| 9 | Section 03, Martin Kropelnicki PSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001104659-26-040708 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards for Fiscal Year Ended 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗ |
| 10 | Section 03, Michael Luu RSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001104659-26-040708 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards for Fiscal Year Ended 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗ |
| 11 | Section 03, James Lynch PSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001104659-26-040708 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards for Fiscal Year Ended 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗ |
| 12 | Section 03, James Lynch RSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001104659-26-040708 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards for Fiscal Year Ended 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗ |
| 13 | Section 03, Shannon Dean RSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001104659-26-040708 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards for Fiscal Year Ended 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗ |
| 14 | Section 03, Martin Kropelnicki RSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001104659-26-040708 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards for Fiscal Year Ended 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗ |
| 15 | Section 03, Michael Luu PSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001104659-26-040708 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards for Fiscal Year Ended 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗ |
| 16 | Section 08, Scott L. Morris | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001104659-26-040708 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 296,178. Filing ↗ |
| 17 | Section 08, Gregory E. Aliff | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001104659-26-040708 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 266,178. Filing ↗machine: span 1148039–1148046 |
| 18 | Section 08, Thomas M. Krummel, M.D | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001104659-26-040708 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 261,178. Filing ↗machine: span 1156578–1156585 |
| 19 | Section 08, Lester A. Snow | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001104659-26-040708 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 256,178. Filing ↗machine: span 1170400–1170407 |
| 20 | Section 08, Patricia K. Wagner | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001104659-26-040708 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 256,178. Filing ↗machine: span 1173942–1173949 |
| 21 | Section 08, Shelly M. Esque | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001104659-26-040708 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 241,178. Filing ↗machine: span 1150989–1150996 |
| 22 | Section 08, Yvonne A. Maldonado, M.D | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001104659-26-040708 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 241,178. Filing ↗machine: span 1159215–1159222 |
| 23 | Section 08, Charles R. Patton | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001104659-26-040708 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 241,178. Filing ↗machine: span 1164821–1164828 |
| 24 | Section 08, Jeffrey Kightlinger | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001104659-26-040708 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 241,178. Filing ↗machine: span 1153620–1153627 |
| 25 | Section 08, Carol M. Pottenger | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001104659-26-040708 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 241,178. Filing ↗machine: span 1167774–1167781 |
| 26 | Section 08, Martin A. Kropelnicki | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001104659-26-040708 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗ |
| 27 | Section 06, 2026 vote | Form 8-K | 2026-05-21 | 0001104659-26-065135 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 94.87% (votes for as printed: 46,971,099). Filing ↗ |
| 28 | Section 06, 2025 vote | Form 8-K | 2025-05-29 | 0001104659-25-054291 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 67.48% (votes for as printed: 32,524,231). Filing ↗ |
| 29 | Section 06, 2024 vote | Form 8-K | 2024-06-03 | 0001104659-24-067322 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 95.79% (votes for as printed: 46,178,612). Filing ↗ |
| 30 | Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed) | Computed | — | — | Δ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.machine: formula: Δ = FY(n) − FY(n−1) |
| 31 | 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).machine: formula: sums + PSU ratio |
| 32 | Section 09b board cost (computed) | Computed | — | — | Cash 1,310,000 + equity 1,231,780 + all other 0 = 2,541,780, summed across the director compensation table rows.machine: formula: Σ = 2,541,780 |
| 33 | California Water Service Group (subject), Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-08 | 0001104659-26-040708 | CEO total compensation as printed in California Water Service Group's own proxy. As printed: 6,875,256. Filing ↗machine: r1 · c49 · span 2165398–2165407 |