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 MSEX 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 MSEX 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nadine Leslie | $754,000 | $0 | $678,000 | $0 | $427,525 | $0 | $46,499 | $1,906,024 |
| Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer | ||||||||
| Mohammed Zerhouni | 587,600 | 0 | 200,000 | 0 | 199,905 | 0 | 37,191 | 1,024,696 |
| Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer | ||||||||
| Gregory Sorensen | 494,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 165,098 | 0 | 37,416 | 696,514 |
| Vice President, Chief Operating Officer | ||||||||
| Jay Kooper | 386,227 | 0 | 103,000 | 0 | 63,960 | 0 | 33,056 | 586,243 |
| Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary | ||||||||
| Georgia Simpson | 318,210 | 0 | 72,000 | 0 | 52,696 | 0 | 24,682 | 467,588 |
| Vice President, Information Technology and Chief Technology 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nadine Leslie | $1,906,024 | — | — | — |
| Mohammed Zerhouni | 1,024,696 | — | — | — |
| Gregory Sorensen | 696,514 | — | — | — |
| Jay Kooper | 586,243 | — | — | — |
| Georgia Simpson | 467,588 | — | — | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jay Kooper | RSA | — | — | — | — | — | $135,179 |
| Nadine Leslie | RSA | — | — | — | — | — | 659,750 |
| Nadine Leslie | RSA | — | — | — | — | — | 250,000 |
| Georgia Simpson | RSA | — | — | — | — | — | 111,373 |
| Gregory Sorensen | RSA | — | — | — | — | — | 259,350 |
| Mohammed Zerhouni | RSA | — | — | — | — | — | 308,490 |
Grant-level vehicle detail not disclosed.
% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nadine Leslie | RSU | 6,677 | — | $340,126 |
| Jay Kooper | RSU | 4,853 | — | 247,212 |
| Georgia Simpson | RSU | 4,183 | — | 213,082 |
| Mohammed Zerhouni | RSU | 3,120 | — | 158,933 |
The overall objectives of the Company’s compensation program are to retain, motivate, and reward employees and officers (including the NEOs) for short- and long-term performance, and to provide competitive compensation to attract appropriate talent to the Company.
| CEO STI target (% of salary) | — |
|---|---|
| CEO LTI target (% of salary) | — |
| Independent consultant | — |
| Clawback policy | true |
| Anti-hedging | true |
| Anti-pledging | true |
| Meeting year | Meeting date | For | Against | Abstain | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-05-19 | 13,250,940 | 982,607 | 63,689 | 93.1% | Passed |
| 2025 | 2025-05-20 | 11,303,565 | 1,780,684 | 102,589 | 86.39% | Passed |
| 2024 | 2024-05-21 | 9,111,623 | 3,764,447 | 91,297 | 70.76% | Passed |
| 2023 | 2023-05-23 | 11,042,344 | 816,870 | 72,215 | 93.11% | Passed |
| 2022 | 2022-05-23 | 11,869,742 | 589,392 | 71,626 | 95.27% | Passed |
| 2021 | 2021-05-25 | 11,535,743 | 483,906 | 83,022 | 95.97% | 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 | 2026-05-19 | 93.1%a |
| 2025 | 2025-05-20 | 86.39%b |
| 2024 | 2024-05-21 | 70.76%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.
| Director | Cash fees | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steven M. KleinIndependent · Nominating/Governance · Pension · Audit · Committee Financial Expert | $88,000 | $45,000 | — | — | — | $133,000 |
| Amy B. MansueIndependent · Lead Independent Director · Risk · Lead Director · Compensation | 81,667 | 45,000 | — | — | — | 126,667 |
| Joshua Bershad, M.DIndependent · Audit · Compensation (Chair) | 81,000 | 45,000 | — | — | — | 126,000 |
| Kim C. HanemannIndependent · Risk (Chair) · Compensation | 80,000 | 45,000 | — | — | — | 125,000 |
| Walter G. ReinhardIndependent · Nominating/Governance · Pension · Corporate Governance · Nominating | 78,333 | 45,000 | — | — | — | 123,333 |
| Ann L. NobleIndependent · Nominating/Governance · Audit | 78,000 | 45,000 | — | — | — | 123,000 |
| James F. Cosgrove JrIndependent · Pension (Chair) · Compensation | 77,000 | 45,000 | — | — | — | 122,000 |
| Vaughn L. McKoyIndependent · Nominating/Governance · Risk · Pension | 75,000 | 45,000 | — | — | — | 120,000 |
| Dennis W. DollIndependent · Nominating/Governance · Departed during FY | 30,000 | 45,000 | — | — | — | 75,000 |
| Nadine LeslieEmployee director · Board Chair · Nominating/Governance | — | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| Annual cash retainer | $60,000 |
|---|---|
| Annual equity retainer | $45,000 |
| Per board meeting fee | — |
| Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov) | 18,000 / 10,000 / 12,000 |
| Stock ownership guideline | $315,000 |
| Component | FY2025 |
|---|---|
| Cash retainers and fees | $669,000 |
| Equity awards (grant-date value) | $405,000 |
| All other compensation | $0 |
| Total cost of the board | $1,074,000 |
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 | Middlesex Water | 2025 | Nadine Leslie | $754,000 | $678,000 | $0 | $427,525 | $1,906,024 |
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.
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, Nadine Leslie | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001308179-26-000211 | Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 51. As printed: 1,906,024. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c21 · span 791642–791651 |
| 2 | Section 01, Mohammed Zerhouni | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001308179-26-000211 | Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 51. As printed: 1,024,696. Filing ↗machine: r4 · c21 · span 796208–796217 |
| 3 | Section 01, Gregory Sorensen | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001308179-26-000211 | Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 51. As printed: 696,514. Filing ↗machine: r6 · c21 · span 800611–800618 |
| 4 | Section 01, Jay Kooper | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001308179-26-000211 | Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 51. As printed: 586,243. Filing ↗machine: r8 · c21 · span 804773–804780 |
| 5 | Section 01, Georgia Simpson | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001308179-26-000211 | Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 51. As printed: 467,588. Filing ↗machine: r11 · c21 · span 810739–810746 |
| 6 | Section 03, Jay Kooper RSA | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001308179-26-000211 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 752150–752157 |
| 7 | Section 03, Nadine Leslie RSA | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001308179-26-000211 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 746660–746667 |
| 8 | Section 03, Nadine Leslie RSA | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001308179-26-000211 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗ |
| 9 | Section 03, Georgia Simpson RSA | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001308179-26-000211 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 754204–754211 |
| 10 | Section 03, Gregory Sorensen RSA | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001308179-26-000211 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 750325–750332 |
| 11 | Section 03, Mohammed Zerhouni RSA | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001308179-26-000211 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 748493–748500 |
| 12 | Section 08, Steven M. Klein | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001308179-26-000211 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 133,000. Filing ↗machine: span 318363–318370 |
| 13 | Section 08, Amy B. Mansue | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001308179-26-000211 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 126,667. Filing ↗machine: span 319852–319859 |
| 14 | Section 08, Joshua Bershad, M.D | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001308179-26-000211 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 126,000. Filing ↗machine: span 312296–312303 |
| 15 | Section 08, Kim C. Hanemann | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001308179-26-000211 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 125,000. Filing ↗machine: span 316872–316879 |
| 16 | Section 08, Walter G. Reinhard | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001308179-26-000211 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 123,333. Filing ↗machine: span 324517–324524 |
| 17 | Section 08, Ann L. Noble | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001308179-26-000211 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 123,000. Filing ↗machine: span 322831–322838 |
| 18 | Section 08, James F. Cosgrove Jr | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001308179-26-000211 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 122,000. Filing ↗machine: span 313791–313798 |
| 19 | Section 08, Vaughn L. McKoy | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001308179-26-000211 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 120,000. Filing ↗ |
| 20 | Section 08, Dennis W. Doll | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001308179-26-000211 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 75,000. Filing ↗machine: span 315382–315388 |
| 21 | Section 08, Nadine Leslie | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001308179-26-000211 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗ |
| 22 | Section 06, 2026 vote | Form 8-K | 2026-05-20 | 0001628280-26-036878 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 93.1% (votes for as printed: 13,250,940). Filing ↗ |
| 23 | Section 06, 2025 vote | Form 8-K | 2025-05-22 | 0001174947-25-000838 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 86.39% (votes for as printed: 11,303,565). Filing ↗ |
| 24 | Section 06, 2024 vote | Form 8-K | 2024-05-22 | 0001104659-24-064336 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 70.76% (votes for as printed: 9,111,623). Filing ↗ |
| 25 | Section 09b board cost (computed) | Computed | — | computed | Cash 669,000 + equity 405,000 + all other 0 = 1,074,000, summed across the director compensation table rows.machine: formula: Σ = 1,074,000 |
| 26 | Middlesex Water (subject), Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001308179-26-000211 | CEO total compensation as printed in Middlesex Water's own proxy. As printed: 1,906,024. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c21 · span 791642–791651 |