Companies Vivakor, Inc.
Vivakor (VIVK): executive pay, fiscal 2025
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CEO pay, last three years
- $1,076,923FY2024
- $1,000,000FY2025
CEO total pay was $1,000,000 in fiscal 2025, down from $1,076,923 in fiscal 2024.
FY2025: salary $1,000,000 · bonus $0 · stock awards $0 · option awards $0
Frequently asked questions
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.
Full detail
Every table from the filing. Open any section.
Summary compensation table
| Named executive officer | Salary | Bonus | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Pension / NQDC | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Ballengee | $1,000,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $1,000,000 |
| CEO and Chairman (1) | ||||||||
| Tyler Nelson | 478,846 | 25,000 | 91,514 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 595,360 |
| Former CFO (6) | ||||||||
| Pat Knapp | 359,615 | 0 | 100,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 459,615 |
| Former Exec VP, GC and Secretary (9) | ||||||||
| Russ Shelton | 406,796 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 406,796 |
| Former COO (8) | ||||||||
| Les Patterson | 290,962 | 0 | 46,637 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 337,599 |
| EVP and COO (5) | ||||||||
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 officer | FY2025 total | FY2024 total | FY2023 total | Δ FY2024→2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Ballengee | $1,000,000 | $1,076,923 | — | ↓ −76,923 |
| Tyler Nelson | 595,360 | 1,512,603 | — | ↓ −917,243 |
| Pat Knapp | 459,615 | 444,254 | — | ↑ +15,361 |
| Russ Shelton | 406,796 | 231,208 | — | ↑ +175,588 |
| Les Patterson | 337,599 | — | — | — |
Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.
Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis
Executive compensation is structured around base salaries, often paid in company stock, and discretionary or performance-based bonuses tied to specific employment agreements and corporate transactions.
| CEO STI target (% of salary) | — |
|---|---|
| CEO LTI target (% of salary) | — |
| Independent consultant | — |
| Clawback policy | true |
| Anti-hedging | — |
| Anti-pledging | — |
Equity grants and outstanding awards
Grants of plan-based awards — fiscal year 2025
| Executive | Award | Grant date | Threshold | Target | Granted | Maximum | Grant-date fair value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Ballengee | RSA | — | — | — | 8,286 | — | $500,000 |
| James Ballengee | RSA | — | — | — | 3,445 | — | 500,000 |
| James Ballengee | RSA | — | — | — | 3,624 | — | 83,352 |
| Pat Knapp | RSA | — | — | — | 140,190 | — | 250,000 |
| Tyler Nelson | RSA | 2025-02-26 | — | — | 105,213 | — | — |
| Les Patterson | RSA | — | — | — | — | — | 125,000 |
| Les Patterson | RSA | — | — | — | — | — | 250,000 |
| Russ Shelton | RSA | — | — | — | — | — | 150,000 |
Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type
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.
Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end 2025
| Executive | Award | Shares unvested | Exercise price | Market value unvested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Ballengee | RSU | 780,046 | — | $260,272 |
Director compensation
| Director | Cash fees | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John HarrisIndependent · Audit · Compensation · Nominating and Corporate Governance | $60,000 | $50,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $110,000 |
| Albert JohnsonIndependent · Compensation · Audit · Nominating and Corporate Governance (Chair) | 60,000 | 50,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 110,000 |
| Michael ThompsonIndependent · Compensation · Audit (Chair) · Nominating and Corporate Governance | 60,000 | 50,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 110,000 |
| James BallengeeEmployee director · Board Chair | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Tyler NelsonEmployee director · Not standing for re-election · Departed during FY | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Board fee structure and ownership guideline
| Annual cash retainer | $0 |
|---|---|
| Annual equity retainer | — |
| Per board meeting fee | — |
| Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov) | — |
| Stock ownership guideline | — |
Total cost of the board
| Component | FY2025 |
|---|---|
| Cash retainers and fees | $180,000 |
| Equity awards (grant-date value) | $150,000 |
| All other compensation | $0 |
| Total cost of the board | $330,000 |
Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.
Peer group, and who names Vivakor as a peer
Companies that benchmark against VIVK
No companies currently name VIVK as a compensation peer in their most recent disclosure.
This is the complete answer, not a partial one — the list is never padded.
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.
| Rank | Company | FY | Chief executive | Salary | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vivakor, Inc. | 2025 | James Ballengee | $1,000,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $1,000,000 |
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.
Say-on-pay history and pay ratio
| Meeting year | Meeting date | For | Against | Abstain | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-06-30 | 2,643,801 | 181,381 | 1,603 | 93.58% | Passed |
| 2025 | 2025-12-22 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2023 | 2023-12-15 | 15,103,982 | 457,657 | 22,039 | 97.06% | 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 year | Meeting date | Approval — company’s computation |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-06-30 | 93.58%a |
| 2025 | 2025-12-22 | —b |
| 2023 | 2023-12-15 | 97.06%c |
a. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Proposal No. 8: Approval of, on a non-binding advisory basis, the compensation of Vivakor's named executive officers -- The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority in voting power of the votes cast affirmatively or negatively (excluding abstentions) at the Annual Meeting by the holders entitled to vote thereon.”.
b. Voting standard not stated in the filing.
c. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Proposal No. 3: Approval of, on a non-binding advisory basis, the compensation of Vivakor's named executive officers -- The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority in voting power of the votes cast affirmatively or negatively (excluding abstentions) at the Annual Meeting by the holders entitled to vote thereon.”.
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.
CEO pay ratio
| Ratio (CEO : median employee) | 2 : 1 |
|---|---|
| CEO total compensation | — |
| Median employee compensation | — |
Insider trades since the proxy
No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.
Sources (25 citations)
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.
- Section 01, James Ballengee. DEF 14A, filed 2026-06-08. Section “Executive Compensation” · page 19. As printed: 1,000,000. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Tyler Nelson. DEF 14A, filed 2026-06-08. Section “Executive Compensation” · page 19. As printed: 595,360. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Pat Knapp. DEF 14A, filed 2026-06-08. Section “Executive Compensation” · page 19. As printed: 459,615. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Russ Shelton. DEF 14A, filed 2026-06-08. Section “Executive Compensation” · page 19. As printed: 406,796. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Les Patterson. DEF 14A, filed 2026-06-08. Section “Executive Compensation” · page 19. As printed: 337,599. View filing ↗
- Section 03, James Ballengee RSA. DEF 14A, filed 2026-06-08. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, James Ballengee RSA. DEF 14A, filed 2026-06-08. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, James Ballengee RSA. DEF 14A, filed 2026-06-08. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Pat Knapp RSA. DEF 14A, filed 2026-06-08. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Tyler Nelson RSA. DEF 14A, filed 2026-06-08. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Les Patterson RSA. DEF 14A, filed 2026-06-08. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Les Patterson RSA. DEF 14A, filed 2026-06-08. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Russ Shelton RSA. DEF 14A, filed 2026-06-08. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 07, pay ratio. DEF 14A, filed 2026-06-08. Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 2 : 1. View filing ↗
- Section 08, John Harris. DEF 14A, filed 2026-06-08. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 110,000. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Albert Johnson. DEF 14A, filed 2026-06-08. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 110,000. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Michael Thompson. DEF 14A, filed 2026-06-08. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 110,000. View filing ↗
- Section 08, James Ballengee. DEF 14A, filed 2026-06-08. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: —. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Tyler Nelson. DEF 14A, filed 2026-06-08. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: —. View filing ↗
- Section 06, 2026 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2026-06-30. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 93.58% (votes for as printed: 2,643,801). View filing ↗
- Section 06, 2025 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2025-12-23. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: —. View filing ↗
- Section 06, 2023 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2023-12-21. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 97.06% (votes for as printed: 15,103,982). View filing ↗
- Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed). Computed. Δ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.
- Section 09b board cost (computed). Computed. Cash 180,000 + equity 150,000 + all other 0 = 330,000, summed across the director compensation table rows.
- Vivakor, Inc. (subject), Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-06-08. CEO total compensation as printed in Vivakor, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 1,000,000. View filing ↗