Velarion · Company Intelligence
Compensation Brief
Fiscal year 2024 · Filings through 2025-04-28

EchoStar (SATS)

Fiscal year 2024 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.

$8,927,865
Hamid Akhavan total, FY2024
CEO pay percentile vs peers
105:1
CEO-to-median pay ratio
98.29%
Say-on-pay support, latest vote
Companies that benchmark against SATS
6 companies name SATS as a compensation peer

Each company listed discloses SATS 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 SATS 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 2024

Named executive officerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension / NQDCAll otherTotal
Hamid Akhavan$2,471,168$0$4,360,528$0$2,000,000$0$96,169$8,927,865
President and Chief Executive Officer
John Swieringa1,000,00001,162,8001,809,1071,000,00005,2104,977,117
President, Technology and Chief Operating Officer
Charles Ergen1,000,000000003,098,9814,098,981
Chairman
Paul Orban650,000001,012,892650,00005,5202,318,412
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, DISH
Dean Manson667,45100348,020483,89469,1319,7901,578,286
Chief Legal Officer and Secretary

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 officerFY2024 totalFY2023 totalFY2022 totalΔ FY20232024
Hamid Akhavan$8,927,865$7,190,962$15,228,135+1,736,903
John Swieringa4,977,117
Charles Ergen4,098,981
Paul Orban2,318,412
Dean Manson1,578,2861,203,4312,031,274+374,855

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 2024

ExecutiveAwardGrant dateThresholdTargetGrantedMaximumGrant-date fair value
John SwieringaRSU2023-08-0770,175$2,367,417
Paul OrbanRSU2024-03-28100,000607,850
John SwieringaPSU2024-02-2317,543604,490
John SwieringaOption2023-08-07175,439
John SwieringaOption2024-02-23158,947
Hamid AkhavanRSU2023-10-01263,1584,360,528
03b

Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type

Named executive officerTime-vested (RSU)Performance-vested (PSU)Options / SARs% performance-vested
John Swieringa$2,367,417$604,490$020.3%
Paul Orban607,850000.0%
Hamid Akhavan4,360,528000.0%

% 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 2024

ExecutiveAwardShares unvestedExercise priceMarket value unvested
Hamid AkhavanOption467,83616.57
John SwieringaOption175,43916.57
John SwieringaPSU21,053482,114
John SwieringaPSU70,1751,607,008
ErgenOption3,508,77078.98
ErgenOption575,37349.49
Hamid AkhavanOption326,66814.04
Paul OrbanOption187,21514.04
Dean MansonOption135,39914.04
John SwieringaOption122,46714.04
Paul OrbanOption11,81057.01
John SwieringaOption7,71757.01
John SwieringaOption21,052165.11
Paul OrbanOption10,526165.11
ErgenOption21,052165.11
ErgenOption7,717100.95
05

Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis

We design our executive compensation programs with the goal of creating long-term shareholder value and ensuring EchoStar s long-term success. Such goals are dependent upon, among other things, our ability to motivate and retain talented and experienced executives and our ability to tie executive compensation to business performance.

CEO STI target (% of salary)100%
CEO LTI target (% of salary)
Independent consultantCompensia
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
20202020-04-30515,367,419688,01323,97699.86%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
20202020-04-3099.86%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)105 : 1
CEO total compensation$8,927,865
Median employee compensation$85,048
08

Director compensation — fiscal year 2024

DirectorCash feesStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveAll otherTotal
George R. BrokawIndependent · Audit (Chair) · Compensation$81,500$0$40,380$0$0$121,880
Kathleen Q. AbernathyIndependent · Compensation (Chair) · Nominating/Governance80,000040,38000120,380
R. Stanton DodgeIndependent · Nominating/Governance (Chair) · Compensation80,000040,38000120,380
William D. WadeIndependent · Nominating/Governance · Audit75,500040,38000115,880
Lisa W. HershmanIndependent · Compensation · Audit75,500040,38000115,880
Tom A. OrtolfIndependent · Audit · Nominating/Governance69,500040,38000109,880
Stephen J. ByeIndependent68,000040,38000108,380
Hamid AkhavanEmployee director000000
Cantey M. ErgenEmployee director000000
Charles W. ErgenEmployee director · Board Chair000000
James DeFrancoEmployee director000000
09

Board fee structure and ownership guideline

Annual cash retainer$60,000
Annual equity retainer$40,380
Per board meeting fee
Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov)5,000
Stock ownership guideline
09b

Total cost of the board

ComponentFY2024
Cash retainers and fees$530,000
Equity awards (grant-date value)$0
All other compensation$0
Total cost of the board$530,000

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

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
1EchoStar2024Hamid Akhavan$2,471,168$4,360,528$0$2,000,000$8,927,865

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, Hamid AkhavanDEF 14A2025-03-210001558370-25-003470Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 8,927,865. Filing ↗machine: t78 · r8 · c26 · span 969852–969861
2Section 01, John SwieringaDEF 14A2025-03-210001558370-25-003470Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 4,977,117. Filing ↗machine: t78 · r12 · c26 · span 997098–997107
3Section 01, Charles ErgenDEF 14A2025-03-210001558370-25-003470Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 4,098,981. Filing ↗machine: t78 · r5 · c26 · span 948633–948642
4Section 01, Paul OrbanDEF 14A2025-03-210001558370-25-003470Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 2,318,412. Filing ↗machine: t78 · r16 · c26 · span 1025896–1025905
5Section 01, Dean MansonDEF 14A2025-03-210001558370-25-003470Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 1,578,286. Filing ↗machine: t78 · r20 · c26 · span 1054700–1054709
6Section 03, John Swieringa RSUDEF 14A2025-03-210001558370-25-003470Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t84 · r15 · c29 · span 1198304–1198313
7Section 03, Paul Orban RSUDEF 14A2025-03-210001558370-25-003470Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t84 · r18 · c29 · span 1222368–1222375
8Section 03, John Swieringa PSUDEF 14A2025-03-210001558370-25-003470Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t84 · r16 · c29 · span 1206355–1206362
9Section 03, John Swieringa OptionDEF 14A2025-04-280001558370-25-003470Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗
10Section 03, John Swieringa OptionDEF 14A2025-04-280001558370-25-003470Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗
11Section 03, Hamid Akhavan RSUDEF 14A2025-03-210001558370-25-003470Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t78 · r8 · c11 · span 966234–966243
12Section 07, pay ratioDEF 14A2025-03-210001558370-25-003470Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 105 : 1. Filing ↗machine: span 414193–414196
13Section 08, George R. BrokawDEF 14A2025-03-210001558370-25-003470Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 121,880. Filing ↗machine: t10 · r9 · c21 · span 235099–235106
14Section 08, Kathleen Q. AbernathyDEF 14A2025-03-210001558370-25-003470Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 120,380. Filing ↗machine: t10 · r8 · c21 · span 229833–229840
15Section 08, R. Stanton DodgeDEF 14A2025-03-210001558370-25-003470Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 120,380. Filing ↗machine: t10 · r11 · c21 · span 246047–246054
16Section 08, William D. WadeDEF 14A2025-03-210001558370-25-003470Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 115,880. Filing ↗machine: t10 · r14 · c21 · span 262677–262684
17Section 08, Lisa W. HershmanDEF 14A2025-03-210001558370-25-003470Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 115,880. Filing ↗machine: t10 · r12 · c21 · span 251731–251738
18Section 08, Tom A. OrtolfDEF 14A2025-03-210001558370-25-003470Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 109,880. Filing ↗machine: t10 · r13 · c21 · span 256994–257001
19Section 08, Stephen J. ByeDEF 14A2025-03-210001558370-25-003470Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 108,380. Filing ↗machine: t10 · r10 · c21 · span 240781–240788
20Section 08, Hamid AkhavanDEF 14A2025-03-210001558370-25-003470Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗
21Section 08, Cantey M. ErgenDEF 14A2025-03-210001558370-25-003470Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗
22Section 08, Charles W. ErgenDEF 14A2025-03-210001558370-25-003470Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗
23Section 08, James DeFrancoDEF 14A2025-03-210001558370-25-003470Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗
24Section 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). Filing ↗
25Section 06, 2020 voteForm 8-K2020-05-010001415404-20-000018Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 99.86%. Filing ↗
26Section 06, 2017 voteForm 8-K2017-05-020001415404-17-000026Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 99.87%. Filing ↗
27Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed)ComputedcomputedΔ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.machine: formula: Δ = FY(n) − FY(n−1)
28Section 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
29Section 09b board cost (computed)ComputedcomputedCash 530,000 + equity 0 + all other 0 = 530,000, summed across the director compensation table rows.machine: formula: Σ = 530,000
30EchoStar (subject), Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2025-03-210001558370-25-003470CEO total compensation as printed in EchoStar's own proxy. As printed: 8,927,865. Filing ↗machine: t78 · r8 · c26 · span 969852–969861