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.
Each company listed discloses KNF 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 KNF in an earlier year and no longer does, and one whose own most recent disclosure is older than the last two seasons.
| Named executive officer | Salary | Bonus | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Pension / NQDC | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Gray | $1,000,000 | $0 | $3,785,841 | $0 | $1,006,253 | $0 | $28,774 | $5,820,868 |
| President and Chief Executive Officer | ||||||||
| Trevor Hastings | 545,000 | 0 | 935,426 | 0 | 342,755 | 61,030 | 94,274 | 1,978,485 |
| Vice President and Chief Operating Officer | ||||||||
| Nathan Ring | 545,000 | 0 | 935,426 | 0 | 342,755 | 0 | 83,274 | 1,906,455 |
| Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | ||||||||
| Karl Liepitz | 485,000 | 0 | 832,371 | 0 | 305,021 | 3,358 | 84,251 | 1,710,001 |
| Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary | ||||||||
| Glenn Pladsen | 425,000 | 0 | 536,385 | 0 | 267,286 | 0 | 71,158 | 1,299,829 |
| Vice President and Chief Excellence 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.
| Named executive officer | FY2025 total | FY2024 total | FY2023 total | Δ FY2024→2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Gray | $5,820,868 | $6,941,573 | $4,991,482 | −1,120,705 |
| Trevor Hastings | 1,978,485 | 2,444,108 | 2,227,879 | −465,623 |
| Nathan Ring | 1,906,455 | 2,430,308 | 1,739,152 | −523,853 |
| Karl Liepitz | 1,710,001 | 2,208,458 | 2,185,495 | −498,457 |
| Glenn Pladsen | 1,299,829 | — | — | — |
Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.
No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.
| Executive | Award | Grant date | Threshold | Target | Granted | Maximum | Grant-date fair value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glenn Pladsen | RSU | 2025-02-27 | — | — | 1,786 | — | $166,294 |
| Trevor Hastings | PSU | 2025-02-27 | 2,890 | 5,780 | 5,780 | 11,560 | 645,482 |
| Brian Gray | RSU | 2025-02-27 | — | — | 12,599 | — | 1,173,093 |
| Karl Liepitz | RSU | 2025-02-27 | — | — | 2,770 | — | 257,915 |
| Glenn Pladsen | PSU | 2025-02-27 | 1,657 | 3,314 | 3,314 | 6,628 | 370,091 |
| Brian Gray | PSU | 2025-02-27 | 11,698 | 23,396 | 23,396 | 46,792 | 2,612,748 |
| Nathan Ring | RSU | 2025-02-27 | — | — | 3,114 | — | 289,945 |
| Karl Liepitz | PSU | 2025-02-27 | 2,572 | 5,144 | 5,144 | 10,288 | 574,456 |
| Trevor Hastings | RSU | 2025-02-27 | — | — | 3,114 | — | 289,945 |
| Nathan Ring | PSU | 2025-02-27 | 2,890 | 5,780 | 5,780 | 11,560 | 645,482 |
| Named executive officer | Time-vested (RSU) | Performance-vested (PSU) | Options / SARs | % performance-vested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glenn Pladsen | $166,294 | $370,091 | $0 | 69.0% |
| Trevor Hastings | 289,945 | 645,482 | 0 | 69.0% |
| Brian Gray | 1,173,093 | 2,612,748 | 0 | 69.0% |
| Karl Liepitz | 257,915 | 574,456 | 0 | 69.0% |
| Nathan Ring | 289,945 | 645,482 | 0 | 69.0% |
% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glenn Pladsen | PSU | 7,314 | — | $514,540 |
| Karl Liepitz | RSU | 7,118 | — | 500,751 |
| Nathan Ring | RSU | 7,919 | — | 557,102 |
| Karl Liepitz | PSU | 13,219 | — | 929,957 |
| Brian Gray | PSU | 56,396 | — | 3,967,458 |
| Brian Gray | RSU | 30,368 | — | 2,136,389 |
| Trevor Hastings | PSU | 14,705 | — | 1,034,497 |
| Trevor Hastings | RSU | 7,919 | — | 557,102 |
| Nathan Ring | PSU | 14,705 | — | 1,034,497 |
| Glenn Pladsen | RSU | 3,939 | — | 277,109 |
To ensure management's interests are aligned with those of our stockholders and the performance of the company, the majority of the CEO's and the other named executive officers' compensation is dependent on the achievement of company performance targets and long-term incentives.
| CEO STI target (% of salary) | 120% |
|---|---|
| CEO LTI target (% of salary) | — |
| Independent consultant | Meridian |
| Clawback policy | True |
| Anti-hedging | True |
| Anti-pledging | True |
| Meeting year | Meeting date | For | Against | Abstain | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-05-20 | 45,322,044 | 1,777,385 | 103,741 | 96.01% | Passed |
| 2025 | 2025-05-22 | 43,551,803 | 2,233,830 | 145,389 | 94.82% | Passed |
| 2024 | 2024-05-14 | 41,673,105 | 1,440,727 | 131,134 | 96.37% | 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 | 96.01%a |
| 2025 | 2025-05-22 | 94.82%b |
| 2024 | 2024-05-14 | 96.37%c |
a. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Abstentions will count as votes against this proposal.”.
b. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Abstentions will count as votes against this proposal.”.
c. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Abstentions will count as votes against this proposal.”.
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.
| Ratio (CEO : median employee) | 64 : 1 |
|---|---|
| CEO total compensation | — |
| Median employee compensation | $90,710 |
| Annual cash retainer | $110,000 |
|---|---|
| Annual equity retainer | $150,000 |
| Per board meeting fee | $0 |
| Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov) | 20,000 / 20,000 / 15,000 |
| Stock ownership guideline | $550,000 |
The compensation peer group as the company disclosed it in its own proxy — the reference set behind the percentile above.
Of the companies Knife River 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 Knife River.
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 | Vulcan Materials Company | 2025 | J. Thomas Hill | $1,235,000 | $7,906,513 | $1,976,288 | $3,043,000 | $14,699,497 |
| 2 | Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. | 2025 | C. Nye | 1,368,333 | 9,428,726 | 0 | 2,835,719 | 14,264,065 |
| 3 | Eagle Materials Inc. | 2026 | Michael Haack | 1,119,456 | 5,457,270 | 1,657,834 | 1,948,987 | 10,302,728 |
| 4 | Granite Construction Incorporated | 2025 | Kyle Larkin | 1,000,000 | 7,178,777 | 0 | 1,612,935 | 9,861,425 |
| 5 | Allegion plc | 2025 | John Stone | 1,066,115 | 4,562,226 | 1,450,032 | 1,940,926 | 9,155,073 |
| 6 | Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. | 2025 | Joseph Cutillo | 1,100,000 | 4,675,000 | 0 | 2,530,000 | 8,414,685 |
| 7 | Arcosa, Inc. | 2025 | Antonio Carrillo | 1,000,000 | 5,127,741 | 0 | 1,937,500 | 8,092,216 |
| 8 | Construction Partners, Inc. | 2025 | Fred J. (Jule) Smith, III | 837,308 | 2,870,328 | 0 | 875,000 | 6,410,129 |
| 9 | Knife River | 2025 | Brian Gray | 1,000,000 | 3,785,841 | 0 | 1,006,253 | 5,820,868 |
| 10 | Gibraltar Industries, Inc. | 2025 | William Bosway | 908,269 | 3,202,440 | 0 | 274,500 | 4,731,001 |
| — | Armstrong World Industries, Inc. | — | — | — | — | — | — | not in coverage universe |
| — | Compass Minerals International, Inc. | — | — | — | — | — | — | not in coverage universe |
| — | Summit Materials, Inc. | — | — | — | — | — | — | not in coverage universe |
| — | Dycom Industries, Inc. | — | — | — | — | — | — | not in coverage universe |
| — | Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. | — | — | — | — | — | — | not in coverage universe |
| — | Minerals Technologies Inc. | — | — | — | — | — | — | not in coverage universe |
| — | The AZEK Company 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.
| Company | Annual incentive payout | Long-term vehicle mix | PSU measures include TSR | Compensation consultant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knife River | 83.9% | PSU 65 · RSU 35 | Yes — Total Stockholder Return (TSR) relative to that of peer companies | Meridian |
| Allegion plc | 131.31% | PSU 50 · Options 25 · RSU 25 | Yes — Relative TSR | FW Cook |
| Arcosa, Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | Yes — rTSR | Not disclosed |
| Armstrong World Industries, Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Compass Minerals International, Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Construction Partners, Inc. | 100% | PSU 73 · RSU 27 | No | Dana Krieg (independent compensation consultant) |
| Dycom Industries, Inc. | 226% | PSU 50 · RSU 50 | No | Not disclosed |
| Eagle Materials Inc. | not disclosed | Options 50 · PSU 25 · RSU 25 | Yes — Average Absolute Total Stockholder Return (Avg. A-TSR) | Meridian Compensation Partners |
| Gibraltar Industries, Inc. | 25% | PSU 64 · RSU 36 | No | WTW |
| Granite Construction Incorporated | 134% | PSU 75 · RSU 25 | Yes — Relative TSR | FW Cook |
| Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. | 185% | PSU 55 · RSU 45 | Yes — Relative TSR | Pay Governance |
| Minerals Technologies Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. | 200% | PSU 60 · RSU 40 | Yes — Relative Total Shareholder Return (TSR) | Meridian Compensation Partners |
| Summit Materials, Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| The AZEK Company Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Vulcan Materials Company | 153.8% | PSU 60 · RSU 20 · Options 20 | Yes — Total Shareholder Return (TSR) percentile rank relative to S&P 500 Index | Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC |
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.
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, Brian Gray | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023783 | Section “Summary Compensation Table for 2025”. As printed: 5,820,868. Filing ↗machine: t200 · r3 · c14 · span 1008506–1008515 |
| 2 | Section 01, Trevor Hastings | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023783 | Section “Summary Compensation Table for 2025”. As printed: 1,978,485. Filing ↗machine: t200 · r9 · c14 · span 1024931–1024940 |
| 3 | Section 01, Nathan Ring | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023783 | Section “Summary Compensation Table for 2025”. As printed: 1,906,455. Filing ↗machine: t200 · r6 · c14 · span 1016984–1016993 |
| 4 | Section 01, Karl Liepitz | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023783 | Section “Summary Compensation Table for 2025”. As printed: 1,710,001. Filing ↗machine: t200 · r12 · c14 · span 1033355–1033364 |
| 5 | Section 01, Glenn Pladsen | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023783 | Section “Summary Compensation Table for 2025”. As printed: 1,299,829. Filing ↗machine: t200 · r18 · c14 · span 1042895–1042904 |
| 6 | Section 03, Glenn Pladsen RSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023783 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t176 · r6 · c6 · span 901160–901165 |
| 7 | Section 03, Trevor Hastings PSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023783 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t176 · r4 · c5 · span 897274–897279 |
| 8 | Section 03, Brian Gray RSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023783 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t176 · r2 · c6 · span 894031–894037 |
| 9 | Section 03, Karl Liepitz RSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023783 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t176 · r5 · c6 · span 899232–899237 |
| 10 | Section 03, Glenn Pladsen PSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023783 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t176 · r6 · c5 · span 900897–900902 |
| 11 | Section 03, Brian Gray PSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023783 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t176 · r2 · c5 · span 893770–893776 |
| 12 | Section 03, Nathan Ring RSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023783 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t176 · r3 · c6 · span 895781–895786 |
| 13 | Section 03, Karl Liepitz PSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023783 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t176 · r5 · c5 · span 898998–899003 |
| 14 | Section 03, Trevor Hastings RSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023783 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t176 · r4 · c6 · span 897508–897513 |
| 15 | Section 03, Nathan Ring PSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023783 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t176 · r3 · c5 · span 895547–895552 |
| 16 | Section 07, pay ratio | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023783 | Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 64 : 1. Filing ↗machine: span 1364959–1364966 |
| 17 | Section 06, 2026 vote | Form 8-K | 2026-05-21 | 0001628280-26-037338 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 96.01% (votes for as printed: 45,322,044). Filing ↗ |
| 18 | Section 06, 2025 vote | Form 8-K | 2025-05-28 | 0001955520-25-000043 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 94.82% (votes for as printed: 43,551,803). Filing ↗ |
| 19 | Section 06, 2024 vote | Form 8-K | 2024-05-17 | 0001955520-24-000028 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 96.37% (votes for as printed: 41,673,105). Filing ↗ |
| 20 | Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed) | Computed | — | computed | Δ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.machine: formula: Δ = FY(n) − FY(n−1) |
| 21 | Section 03b vehicle mix (computed) | 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 |
| 22 | Vulcan Materials Company, Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-03-24 | 0001628280-26-020812 | CEO total compensation as printed in Vulcan Materials Company's own proxy. As printed: 14,699,497. Filing ↗machine: t136 · r4 · c16 · span 1010456–1010466 |
| 23 | Martin Marietta Materials, Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-15 | 0001193125-26-157039 | CEO total compensation as printed in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 14,264,065. Filing ↗machine: r4 · c44 · span 1436786–1436796 |
| 24 | Eagle Materials Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-06-15 | 0001193125-26-271073 | CEO total compensation as printed in Eagle Materials Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 10,302,728. Filing ↗machine: t143 · r4 · c26 · span 1818301–1818311 |
| 25 | Granite Construction Incorporated, Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-23 | 0000861459-26-000012 | CEO total compensation as printed in Granite Construction Incorporated's own proxy. As printed: 9,861,425. Filing ↗machine: t43 · r4 · c18 · span 618853–618862 |
| 26 | Allegion plc, Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-17 | 0001104659-26-044597 | CEO total compensation as printed in Allegion plc's own proxy. As printed: 9,155,073. Filing ↗machine: t220 · r9 · c18 · span 1257755–1257764 |
| 27 | Sterling Infrastructure, Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-03-25 | 0000874238-26-000042 | CEO total compensation as printed in Sterling Infrastructure, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 8,414,685. Filing ↗machine: span 669281–669290 |
| 28 | Arcosa, Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-03-31 | 0001739445-26-000050 | CEO total compensation as printed in Arcosa, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 8,092,216. Filing ↗machine: t194 · r4 · c14 · span 1027065–1027074 |
| 29 | Construction Partners, Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-01-27 | 0001628280-26-003572 | CEO total compensation as printed in Construction Partners, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 6,410,129. Filing ↗machine: t35 · r3 · c19 · span 644451–644460 |
| 30 | Knife River (subject), Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023783 | CEO total compensation as printed in Knife River's own proxy. As printed: 5,820,868. Filing ↗machine: t200 · r3 · c14 · span 1008506–1008515 |
| 31 | Gibraltar Industries, Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0000912562-26-000083 | CEO total compensation as printed in Gibraltar Industries, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 4,731,001. Filing ↗machine: t256 · r4 · c11 · span 854722–854731 |
| 32 | Section 10a, Arcosa, Inc. reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001739445-26-000050 | Arcosa, Inc. names Knife River in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). Filing ↗ |
| 33 | Section 10a, Granite Construction Incorporated reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0000861459-26-000012 | Granite Construction Incorporated's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Knife River. Filing ↗ |
| 34 | Section 10a, Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001193125-26-157039 | Martin Marietta Materials, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Knife River. Filing ↗ |
| 35 | Section 10a, Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0000874238-26-000042 | Sterling Infrastructure, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Knife River. Filing ↗ |
| 36 | Section 10a, Vulcan Materials Company reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001628280-26-020812 | Vulcan Materials Company's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Knife River. Filing ↗ |
| 37 | Section 10a, Dycom Industries, Inc. reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0000067215-26-000017 | Dycom Industries, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Knife River. Filing ↗ |
| 38 | Section 10a, Allegion plc reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001104659-26-044597 | Allegion plc's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Knife River. Filing ↗ |
| 39 | Section 10a, Eagle Materials Inc. reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001193125-26-271073 | Eagle Materials Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Knife River. Filing ↗ |
| 40 | Section 10a, Gibraltar Industries, Inc. reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0000912562-26-000083 | Gibraltar Industries, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Knife River. Filing ↗ |