Velarion · Company Intelligence
Compensation Brief
Fiscal year 2025 · Filings through 2026-09-18

EchoStar CORP (ECHO)

CEO Charles Ergen was paid $4,648,665 in fiscal year 2025, ↑ up 13.4% from fiscal year 2024, the 1st percentile of its disclosed peer group (SEC filing 0001104659-26-108960 ↗): 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.

$10,179,420
John Swieringa total, FY2025
President, Technology and Chief Operating Officer — highest-paid officer; CEO Charles Ergen: $4,648,665
1st
CEO (Charles Ergen) pay percentile vs peers
55:1
CEO-to-median pay ratio
98.29%
Say-on-pay support, latest vote

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Sample answer — “What is the CEO’s total compensation?”
- Charles Ergen (Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer), FY2025 total compensation $4,648,665 (base salary $1,000,000) [exec_comp, SEC accession 0001104659-26-108960, filed 2026-09-18]

Answered within 24 hours, every figure cited to its SEC filing. If our database cannot answer your question, you are refunded automatically.

ECHO's next annual pay disclosure, estimated September 18, 2027.est. Filing ↗

01

Summary Compensation Table — fiscal year 2025

Named executive officerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension / NQDCAll otherTotal
John Swieringa$1,025,000$0$6,365,000$2,417,170$365,250$0$7,000$10,179,420
President, Technology and Chief Operating Officer
Hamid Akhavan2,500,01406,026,3180028,08713,2938,567,712
President and Chief Executive Officer, EchoStar Capital
Paul Orban696,15403,975,0000007,5204,678,674
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, DISH
Charles Ergen1,000,000000003,648,6654,648,665
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Dean Manson682,08900604,292420,04064,4587,5201,778,399
Chief Legal Officer and Secretary
Paul Gaske750,00600604,292237,00172,3487,4161,671,064
Chief Operating Officer, Hughes

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
John Swieringa$10,179,420$4,977,117—↑ +5,202,303
Hamid Akhavan8,567,7128,927,8657,190,962↓ −360,153
Paul Orban4,678,6742,318,412—↑ +2,360,262
Charles Ergen4,648,6654,098,981—↑ +549,684
Dean Manson1,778,3991,578,2861,203,431↑ +200,113
Paul Gaske1,671,064—1,172,147—

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

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Companies that benchmark against ECHO
9 companies name ECHO as a compensation peer

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

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
Hamid AkhavanRSU2025-04-01——87—$2,000
Paul OrbanRSU2025-10-01——50,000—3,975,000
Hamid AkhavanRSU2025-01-01——263,158—6,026,318
Charles W. ErgenRSU2025-04-01——87—2,000
Paul GaskeRSU2025-04-01——87—2,000
John SwieringaRSU2025-04-01——87—2,000
Paul OrbanRSU2025-04-01——87—2,000
John SwieringaRSU2025-06-26——250,000—6,365,000
Dean MansonRSU2025-04-01——87—2,000
Paul GaskeOPTION2025-10-01——15,000—604,292
John SwieringaOPTION2025-10-01——60,000—2,417,170
Dean MansonOPTION2025-10-01——15,000—604,292
03b

Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type

Named executive officerTime-vested (RSU)Performance-vested (PSU)Options / SARs% performance-vested
Hamid Akhavan$6,028,318$0$00.0%
Paul Orban3,977,000000.0%
Charles W. Ergen2,000000.0%
Paul Gaske2,0000604,2920.0%
John Swieringa6,367,00002,417,1700.0%
Dean Manson2,0000604,2920.0%

% 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
Paul OrbanPSU50,000—$5,435,000
Dean MansonOption81,70014.04—
John SwieringaPSU200,000—21,740,000
Dean MansonOption15,00079.5—
Paul OrbanOption137,15314.04—
John SwieringaOption60,00079.5—
John SwieringaPSU70,176—7,628,131
Hamid AkhavanOption183,75114.04—
Hamid AkhavanOption233,91816.57—
John SwieringaOption140,35216.57—
John SwieringaOption78,17114.04—
Paul GaskeOption35,78114.04—
Paul GaskeOption15,00079.5—
05

Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis

EchoStar designs its executive compensation programs to create long-term shareholder value and ensure the company's long-term success by attracting and retaining top talent, reinforcing stock ownership, and emphasizing performance as a basis for compensation. The program aims to align the interests of management and shareholders through equity compensation based on future stock performance and performance-based cash incentives.

CEO STI target (% of salary)—
CEO LTI target (% of salary)—
Independent consultant—
Clawback policytrue
Anti-hedgingtrue
Anti-pledgingtrue
06

Say-on-pay — recent advisory votes

Meeting yearMeeting dateForAgainstAbstainSupportOutcome
20232023-04-27493,571,4648,442,894134,55898.29%Passed
20202020-04-30515,367,419688,01323,97699.87%Passed
20172017-05-02514,916,888666,58912,62199.87%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
20232023-04-2798.29%a
20202020-04-3099.87%b
20172017-05-0299.87%c

a. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Abstentions will have the same effect as votes "against" (i) the ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 (Proposal 2), (ii) the approval of the compensation of our named executive officers on a non-binding advisory basis (Proposal 3), and (iii) the approval of, on a non-binding advisory basis, whether a non-binding advisory vote on the compensation of our named executive officers should be held every one, two or three years (Proposal 4).”.

b. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Abstentions will have the same effect as votes "against" (i) the ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm (Proposal 2) and (ii) the approval of the compensation of our named executive officers on a non-binding advisory basis (Proposal 3).”.

c. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Abstentions will have the same effect as votes "against" the ratification of the (i) appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm, (ii) approval of the compensation of our named executive officers on a non-binding advisory basis, (iii) approval, on a non-binding advisory basis, of whether a non-binding advisory vote on the compensation of our named executive officers should be held every one, two or three years, (iv) approval of the 2017 Employee Stock Incentive Plan, (v) approval of the 2017 Director Plan, and (vi) approval of the A&R 2017 ESPP.”.

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)55 : 1
CEO total compensation$4,648,665
Median employee compensation$84,476
08

Director compensation — fiscal year 2025

DirectorCash feesStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveAll otherTotal
R. Stanton DodgeIndependent · Compensation · Nominating and Governance (Chair)$75,500$0$56,448$0$0$131,948
Kathleen Q. AbernathyIndependent · Compensation (Chair) · Nominating and Governance · Not standing for re-election75,500056,44800131,948
George R. BrokawIndependent · Audit (Chair) · Compensation74,500056,44800130,948
William D. WadeIndependent · Audit · Nominating and Governance · Not standing for re-election71,500056,44800127,948
Tom A. OrtolfIndependent · Audit · Nominating and Governance70,500056,44800126,948
Stephen J. ByeIndependent · Not standing for re-election69,000056,44800125,448
Lisa W. HershmanIndependent · Compensation · Audit · Not standing for re-election68,500056,44800124,948
Charles W. ErgenEmployee director · Board Chair—————0
James DeFrancoEmployee director—————0
Katherine E. FlynnEmployee director · Partial-year service · Newly elected—————0
Cantey M. ErgenEmployee director—————0
William P. WallIndependent · Partial-year service · Newly elected——————
09

Board fee structure and ownership guideline

Annual cash retainer$60,000
Annual equity retainer—
Per board meeting fee$1,000
Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov)5,000 / 5,000 / 5,000
Stock ownership guideline—
09b

Total cost of the board

ComponentFY2025
Cash retainers and fees$505,000
Equity awards (grant-date value)$0
All other compensation$0
Total cost of the board$505,000

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.

10a

Peer reciprocity

Of the companies EchoStar CORP names as compensation peers, which name it back in their own disclosed peer groups. A peer set the market reciprocates reads differently from one selected in a single direction.

Reciprocity shown where the peer's own current proxy has been read — each mark is cited in the register to that peer's filing. A dash means the peer's current proxy was read and names no reciprocal group including EchoStar CORP.

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
1T-Mobile US Inc.2025Srinivasan Gopalan$861,539$27,114,078$0$3,623,603$35,439,421
2Comcast Corporation2025Brian Roberts2,600,96223,473,07608,583,17535,148,413
3Verizon Communications Inc.2025Daniel Schulman375,00032,774,7950937,50034,311,016
4AT&T Inc.2025John Stankey2,400,00019,500,01206,272,00029,906,872
5Viasat Inc.2026Mark Dankberg1,406,53810,305,39002,450,00014,208,178
6Charter Communications, Inc.2025Christopher Winfrey1,823,846004,263,1466,466,193
7EchoStar CORP2025Charles Ergen1,000,0000004,648,665
—Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd.——————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.

10c

Incentive design against the same peers

CompanyAnnual incentive payoutLong-term vehicle mixPSU measures include TSRCompensation consultant
EchoStar CORPnot disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
AT&T Inc.112%PSU 75 · RSU 25Yes — Relative Total Stockholder Return (TSR) Payout ModifierFrederic W. Cook & Co., Inc. (FW Cook)
Charter Communications, Inc.94.3%Options 90 · RSU 10not disclosedSemler Brossy Consulting Group, LLC
Comcast Corporation110%PSU 100Yes — Relative TSR ModifierKorn Ferry
Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
T-Mobile US Inc.161%PSU 50 · RSU 50Yes — Relative Total Shareholder Return (RTSR)Mercer
Verizon Communications Inc.100%PSU 60 · RSU 40Yes — relative total shareholder return (TSR) position compared with the companies in the S&P 100Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC
Viasat Inc.121%RSU 50 · PSU 25 · Cash LTI 25Yes — Relative Total Shareholder Return (TSR) vs. Russell 3000 IndexCompensia

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.

10d

Frequently asked questions

Who was the highest-paid executive at EchoStar CORP in fiscal 2025?
As disclosed, John Swieringa (President, Technology and Chief Operating Officer) was the highest-paid executive at EchoStar CORP in fiscal 2025, with total compensation of $10,179,420.
How does EchoStar CORP's chief executive pay compare to its disclosed peer group?
As disclosed, Charles Ergen's total compensation ranked at the 1st percentile of EchoStar CORP's disclosed peer group.
What is EchoStar CORP's CEO-to-median employee pay ratio?
As disclosed, EchoStar CORP's CEO-to-median employee pay ratio was 55:1.
How did shareholders vote on EchoStar CORP's executive compensation?
As disclosed, 98.29% of shareholders supported EchoStar CORP's executive compensation in the latest say-on-pay vote.
How much does EchoStar CORP spend in total on board compensation for fiscal 2025?
As disclosed, EchoStar CORP reported total board compensation of $505,000 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.

11

Source register

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.

#SupportsDocumentFiledAccessionLocation in document
1Section 01, John SwieringaDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Executive Compensation Tables” · page 37. As printed: 10,179,420. View filing ↗
2Section 01, Hamid AkhavanDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Executive Compensation Tables” · page 37. As printed: 8,567,712. View filing ↗
3Section 01, Paul OrbanDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Executive Compensation Tables” · page 37. As printed: 4,678,674. View filing ↗
4Section 01, Charles ErgenDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Executive Compensation Tables” · page 37. As printed: 4,648,665. View filing ↗
5Section 01, Dean MansonDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Executive Compensation Tables” · page 37. As printed: 1,778,399. View filing ↗
6Section 01, Paul GaskeDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Executive Compensation Tables” · page 37. As printed: 1,671,064. View filing ↗
7Section 03, Hamid Akhavan RSUDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
8Section 03, Paul Orban RSUDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
9Section 03, Hamid Akhavan RSUDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
10Section 03, Charles W. Ergen RSUDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
11Section 03, Paul Gaske RSUDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
12Section 03, John Swieringa RSUDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
13Section 03, Paul Orban RSUDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
14Section 03, John Swieringa RSUDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
15Section 03, Dean Manson RSUDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
16Section 03, Paul Gaske OPTIONDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
17Section 03, John Swieringa OPTIONDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
18Section 03, Dean Manson OPTIONDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
19Section 07, pay ratioDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 55 : 1. View filing ↗
20Section 08, R. Stanton DodgeDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 131,948. View filing ↗
21Section 08, Kathleen Q. AbernathyDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 131,948. View filing ↗
22Section 08, George R. BrokawDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 130,948. View filing ↗
23Section 08, William D. WadeDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 127,948. View filing ↗
24Section 08, Tom A. OrtolfDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 126,948. View filing ↗
25Section 08, Stephen J. ByeDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 125,448. View filing ↗
26Section 08, Lisa W. HershmanDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 124,948. View filing ↗
27Section 08, Charles W. ErgenDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
28Section 08, James DeFrancoDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
29Section 08, Katherine E. FlynnDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
30Section 08, Cantey M. ErgenDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
31Section 08, William P. WallDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: —. View filing ↗
32Section 06, 2023 voteForm 8-K2023-04-280001104659-23-052951Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 98.29% (votes for as printed: 493,571,464). View filing ↗
33Section 06, 2020 voteForm 8-K2020-05-010001415404-20-000018Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 99.87% (votes for as printed: 515,367,419). View filing ↗
34Section 06, 2017 voteForm 8-K2017-05-020001415404-17-000026Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 99.87% (votes for as printed: 514,916,888). View filing ↗
35Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed)Computed——Δ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.
36Section 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).
37Section 09b board cost (computed)Computed——Cash 505,000 + equity 0 + all other 0 = 505,000, summed across the director compensation table rows.
38T-Mobile US Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-270001193125-26-181884CEO total compensation as printed in T-Mobile US Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 35,439,421. View filing ↗
39Comcast Corporation, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-240001193125-26-177138CEO total compensation as printed in Comcast Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 35,148,413. View filing ↗
40Verizon Communications Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-060001308179-26-000210CEO total compensation as printed in Verizon Communications Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 34,311,016. View filing ↗
41AT&T Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-230001193125-26-119888CEO total compensation as printed in AT&T Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 29,906,872. View filing ↗
42Viasat Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-07-270001193125-26-318060CEO total compensation as printed in Viasat Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 14,208,178. View filing ↗
43Charter Communications, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-120001140361-26-009220CEO total compensation as printed in Charter Communications, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 6,466,193. View filing ↗
44EchoStar CORP (subject), Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-09-180001104659-26-108960CEO total compensation as printed in EchoStar CORP's own proxy. As printed: 4,648,665. View filing ↗
45Section 10a, Comcast Corporation reciprocityDEF 14A—0001193125-26-177138Comcast Corporation's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include EchoStar CORP. View filing ↗
46Section 10a, Charter Communications, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A—0001140361-26-009220Charter Communications, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include EchoStar CORP. View filing ↗
47Section 10a, AT&T Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A—0001193125-26-119888AT&T Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include EchoStar CORP. View filing ↗
48Section 10a, Verizon Communications Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A—0001308179-26-000210Verizon Communications Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include EchoStar CORP. View filing ↗
49Section 10a, T-Mobile US Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A—0001193125-26-181884T-Mobile US Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include EchoStar CORP. View filing ↗