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 WLK 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 WLK 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albert Chao | $1,050,539 | $0 | $2,817,113 | $1,357,521 | $1,264,209 | $0 | $173,959 | $6,663,341 |
| Executive Chairman | ||||||||
| Jean-Marc Gilson | 1,288,462 | 0 | 3,000,205 | 963,799 | 1,089,692 | 0 | 81,493 | 6,423,651 |
| President, Chief Executive Officer and Director | ||||||||
| James Chao | 642,846 | 0 | 2,817,113 | 1,357,521 | 636,348 | 0 | 132,829 | 5,586,657 |
| Senior Chairman | ||||||||
| Robert Buesinger | 675,000 | 0 | 2,495,879 | 479,909 | 805,387 | 0 | 73,787 | 4,529,962 |
| Executive Vice President, Performance and Essential Materials Segment Head | ||||||||
| M. Steven Bender | 778,077 | 0 | 1,461,118 | 704,069 | 881,931 | 0 | 86,515 | 3,911,710 |
| Executive Vice President and Chief Financial 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albert Chao | $6,663,341 | $10,923,881 | $11,971,486 | −4,260,540 |
| Jean-Marc Gilson | 6,423,651 | 4,259,975 | — | +2,163,676 |
| James Chao | 5,586,657 | 7,361,182 | — | −1,774,525 |
| Robert Buesinger | 4,529,962 | 3,260,691 | 4,791,688 | +1,269,271 |
| M. Steven Bender | 3,911,710 | 4,138,244 | 5,666,363 | −226,534 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jean-Marc Gilson | RSU | 2025-02-28 | — | — | 8,994 | — | $1,000,000 |
| M. Steven Bender | RSU | 2025-02-21 | — | — | 6,391 | — | 703,969 |
| Robert Buesinger | RSU | 2025-02-21 | — | — | 4,356 | — | 479,813 |
| Robert Buesinger | OPTION | 2025-02-21 | — | — | 13,141 | — | 479,909 |
| Jean-Marc Gilson | OPTION | 2025-02-21 | — | — | 26,391 | — | 963,799 |
| Jean-Marc Gilson | RSU | 2025-02-21 | — | — | 8,749 | — | 963,702 |
| Robert Buesinger | RSU | 2025-04-11 | — | — | 17,101 | — | 1,500,000 |
| Albert Chao | RSU | 2025-02-21 | — | — | 12,322 | — | 1,357,268 |
| M. Steven Bender | OPTION | 2025-02-21 | — | — | 19,279 | — | 704,069 |
| Albert Chao | OPTION | 2025-02-21 | — | — | 37,172 | — | 1,357,521 |
| James Chao | OPTION | 2025-02-21 | — | — | 37,172 | — | 1,357,521 |
| James Chao | RSU | 2025-02-21 | — | — | 12,322 | — | 1,357,268 |
| Named executive officer | Time-vested (RSU) | Performance-vested (PSU) | Options / SARs | % performance-vested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jean-Marc Gilson | $1,963,702 | $0 | $963,799 | 0.0% |
| M. Steven Bender | 703,969 | 0 | 704,069 | 0.0% |
| Robert Buesinger | 1,979,813 | 0 | 479,909 | 0.0% |
| Albert Chao | 1,357,268 | 0 | 1,357,521 | 0.0% |
| James Chao | 1,357,268 | 0 | 1,357,521 | 0.0% |
% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Buesinger | PSU | 3,083 | — | $227,957 |
| Robert Buesinger | RSU | 13,164 | — | 973,346 |
| Chao | RSU | 16,555 | — | 1,224,077 |
| Chao | RSU | 10,382 | — | 767,645 |
| Jean-Marc Gilson | RSU | 8,994 | — | 665,016 |
| M. Steven Bender | PSU | 1,777 | — | 131,391 |
| Robert Buesinger | PSU | 1,301 | — | 96,196 |
| M. Steven Bender | RSU | 4,459 | — | 329,698 |
| Robert Buesinger | RSU | 4,356 | — | 322,083 |
| Jean-Marc Gilson | PSU | 2,193 | — | 162,150 |
| Robert Buesinger | RSU | 17,101 | — | 1,264,448 |
| Robert Buesinger | PSU | 1,092 | — | 80,742 |
| Chao | RSU | 9,118 | — | 674,185 |
| Chao | PSU | 3,884 | — | 287,183 |
| Jean-Marc Gilson | RSU | 20,401 | — | 1,508,450 |
| Chao | RSU | 16,010 | — | 1,183,779 |
| Chao | PSU | 9,145 | — | 676,181 |
| Jean-Marc Gilson | RSU | 8,749 | — | 646,901 |
| Chao | PSU | 6,193 | — | 457,910 |
| M. Steven Bender | RSU | 4,751 | — | 351,289 |
| Robert Buesinger | RSU | 3,478 | — | 257,163 |
| Chao | PSU | 3,089 | — | 228,401 |
| Chao | Option | 16,913 | 144.49 | — |
| M. Steven Bender | Option | 4,411 | 122.65 | — |
| M. Steven Bender | RSU | 13,164 | — | 973,346 |
| M. Steven Bender | RSU | 6,391 | — | 472,551 |
| Robert Buesinger | RSU | 3,073 | — | 227,218 |
| Chao | RSU | 12,322 | — | 911,089 |
| M. Steven Bender | PSU | 1,602 | — | 118,452 |
| M. Steven Bender | Option | 19,279 | 110.15 | — |
| Chao | Option | 37,172 | 110.15 | — |
| Chao | PSU | 16,058 | — | 1,187,329 |
| Chao | Option | 29,698 | 144.49 | — |
| Chao | Option | 15,367 | 122.65 | — |
| Chao | Option | 9,637 | 122.65 | — |
| M. Steven Bender | Option | 8,271 | 144.49 | — |
| Robert Buesinger | Option | 3,229 | 122.65 | — |
| Robert Buesinger | Option | 5,702 | 144.49 | — |
| Robert Buesinger | Option | 13,141 | 110.15 | — |
| Jean-Marc Gilson | Option | 26,391 | 110.15 | — |
| M. Steven Bender | PSU | 4,472 | — | 330,660 |
The Company has designed and maintains a comprehensive executive compensation program as a means of: attracting, rewarding and retaining top executive talent in support of the Company's vision, mission and objectives; maintaining market competitiveness with the Company's peer group compensation programs and practices; encouraging and rewarding the achievement of specific individual, business segment and corporate goals and objectives; placing a significant portion of total compensation at risk through variable pay components, including upside potential where targeted objectives are exceeded, to promote management action to create added stockholder value; aligning management interests with the interests of the stockholders; and balancing short-term objectives with long-term strategic initiatives.
| CEO STI target (% of salary) | 105% |
|---|---|
| CEO LTI target (% of salary) | — |
| Independent consultant | Willis Towers Watson |
| Clawback policy | True |
| Anti-hedging | True |
| Anti-pledging | True |
| Meeting year | Meeting date | For | Against | Abstain | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-05-14 | 121,890,636 | 1,497,095 | 88,139 | 98.79% | Passed |
| 2023 | 2023-05-11 | 122,936,982 | 1,095,556 | 37,157 | 99.09% | Passed |
| 2020 | 2020-05-15 | 118,253,895 | 4,048,036 | 38,634 | 96.69% | Passed |
| 2017 | 2017-05-19 | 122,620,098 | 925,707 | 209,822 | 99.08% | 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 | 2026-05-14 | 98.79%a |
| 2023 | 2023-05-11 | 99.09%b |
| 2020 | 2020-05-15 | 96.69%c |
a. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Abstentions and broker non-votes will not be included in the total of votes cast and will not affect the outcome of the vote.”.
b. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Abstentions and broker non-votes will have the same effect as a vote against this proposal.”.
c. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Abstentions and broker non-votes will not be included in the total of votes cast and will not affect the outcome of the vote.”.
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) | 85.6 : 1 |
|---|---|
| CEO total compensation | $6,682,439 |
| Median employee compensation | $78,052 |
| Annual cash retainer | $122,500 |
|---|---|
| Annual equity retainer | — |
| Per board meeting fee | — |
| Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov) | 26,250 / 20,000 / 20,000 |
| Stock ownership guideline | 5x annual cash retainer |
The compensation peer group as the company disclosed it in its own proxy — the reference set behind the percentile above.
Of the companies Westlake 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 Westlake.
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 | Dow Inc. | 2025 | Jim Fitterling | $1,695,200 | $11,910,628 | $2,970,005 | $533,988 | $19,078,777 |
| 2 | DuPont de Nemours, Inc. | 2025 | Lori Koch | 1,242,313 | 12,547,711 | 0 | 1,897,500 | 16,134,250 |
| 3 | LyondellBasell Industries N.V. | 2025 | Peter Vanacker | 1,486,539 | 11,846,184 | 0 | 1,708,500 | 15,577,445 |
| 4 | The Mosaic Company | 2025 | Bruce Bodine | 1,245,000 | 7,999,990 | 0 | 902,100 | 10,410,935 |
| 5 | Celanese Corporation | 2025 | Scott Richardson | — | 5,249,958 | 2,249,990 | 1,342,625 | 10,137,072 |
| 6 | The Chemours Company | 2025 | Denise Dignam | 1,058,836 | 3,368,225 | 2,909,677 | 1,175,781 | 8,595,076 |
| 7 | Builders FirstSource, Inc. | 2025 | Peter Jackson | 1,000,000 | 6,573,062 | 0 | 549,762 | 8,133,324 |
| 8 | Masco Corporation | 2025 | Jonathon Nudi | 528,850 | 4,034,887 | 1,120,019 | 273,600 | 6,641,952 |
| 9 | Westlake | 2025 | Jean-Marc Gilson | 1,288,462 | 3,000,205 | 963,799 | 1,089,692 | 6,423,651 |
| — | Olin Corporation | — | — | — | — | — | — | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westlake | 111% | PSU 34 · Options 33 · RSU 33 | Yes — Relative TSR | Willis Towers Watson |
| Builders FirstSource, Inc. | 36.7% | PSU 50 · RSU 50 | No | Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC |
| Celanese Corporation | 93.4% | PSU 70 · Options 30 | No | Willis Towers Watson PLC |
| Dow Inc. | not disclosed | PSU 65 · Options 20 · RSU 15 | Yes — Relative TSR | Mercer |
| DuPont de Nemours, Inc. | 101.2% | PSU 60 · RSU 40 | Yes — Relative TSR | Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc. (FW Cook) |
| LyondellBasell Industries N.V. | 67% | PSU 60 · RSU 40 | Yes — Relative TSR | Pearl Meyer |
| Masco Corporation | not disclosed | not disclosed | Yes — rTSR | Semler Brossy |
| Olin Corporation | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| The Chemours Company | not disclosed | Options 50 · PSU 25 · RSU 25 | Yes — Relative Total Shareholder Return (rTSR) | Farient Advisors |
| The Mosaic Company | 50.0% | PSU 60 · RSU 40 | Yes — Total Shareholder Return (TSR) | Pay Governance 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, Albert Chao | DEF 14A | 2026-04-02 | 0001193125-26-138974 | Section “2025 Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 6,663,341. Filing ↗machine: t87 · r5 · c27 · span 292771–292780 |
| 2 | Section 01, Jean-Marc Gilson | DEF 14A | 2026-04-02 | 0001193125-26-138974 | Section “2025 Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 6,423,651. Filing ↗machine: t87 · r13 · c27 · span 304138–304147 |
| 3 | Section 01, James Chao | DEF 14A | 2026-04-02 | 0001193125-26-138974 | Section “2025 Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 5,586,657. Filing ↗machine: t87 · r9 · c27 · span 298442–298451 |
| 4 | Section 01, Robert Buesinger | DEF 14A | 2026-04-02 | 0001193125-26-138974 | Section “2025 Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 4,529,962. Filing ↗machine: t87 · r20 · c27 · span 313974–313983 |
| 5 | Section 01, M. Steven Bender | DEF 14A | 2026-04-02 | 0001193125-26-138974 | Section “2025 Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 3,911,710. Filing ↗machine: t87 · r16 · c27 · span 308175–308184 |
| 6 | Section 03, Jean-Marc Gilson RSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-02 | 0001193125-26-138974 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t95 · r15 · c27 · span 371567–371572 |
| 7 | Section 03, M. Steven Bender RSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-02 | 0001193125-26-138974 | Section “2025 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t95 · r19 · c27 · span 382194–382199 |
| 8 | Section 03, Robert Buesinger RSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-02 | 0001193125-26-138974 | Section “2025 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t95 · r24 · c39 · span 396129–396136 |
| 9 | Section 03, Robert Buesinger OPTION | DEF 14A | 2026-04-02 | 0001193125-26-138974 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t87 · r20 · c15 · span 313312–313319 |
| 10 | Section 03, Jean-Marc Gilson OPTION | DEF 14A | 2026-04-02 | 0001193125-26-138974 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t87 · r13 · c15 · span 303474–303481 |
| 11 | Section 03, Jean-Marc Gilson RSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-02 | 0001193125-26-138974 | Section “2025 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t95 · r13 · c27 · span 366289–366294 |
| 12 | Section 03, Robert Buesinger RSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-02 | 0001193125-26-138974 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t95 · r26 · c27 · span 400614–400620 |
| 13 | Section 03, Albert Chao RSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-02 | 0001193125-26-138974 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t95 · r3 · c27 · span 339940–339946 |
| 14 | Section 03, M. Steven Bender OPTION | DEF 14A | 2026-04-02 | 0001193125-26-138974 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t87 · r16 · c15 · span 307513–307520 |
| 15 | Section 03, Albert Chao OPTION | DEF 14A | 2026-04-02 | 0001193125-26-138974 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t87 · r5 · c15 · span 292104–292113 |
| 16 | Section 03, James Chao OPTION | DEF 14A | 2026-04-02 | 0001193125-26-138974 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t87 · r5 · c15 · span 292104–292113 |
| 17 | Section 03, James Chao RSU | DEF 14A | 2026-04-02 | 0001193125-26-138974 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t95 · r3 · c27 · span 339940–339946 |
| 18 | Section 07, pay ratio | DEF 14A | 2026-04-02 | 0001193125-26-138974 | Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 85.6 : 1. Filing ↗machine: span 701937–701943 |
| 19 | Section 06, 2026 vote | Form 8-K | 2026-05-18 | 0001193125-26-229093 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 98.79% (votes for as printed: 121,890,636). Filing ↗ |
| 20 | Section 06, 2023 vote | Form 8-K | 2023-05-16 | 0001193125-23-146155 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 99.09% (votes for as printed: 122,936,982). Filing ↗ |
| 21 | Section 06, 2020 vote | Form 8-K | 2020-05-18 | 0001193125-20-145075 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 96.69%. Filing ↗ |
| 22 | 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) |
| 23 | 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 |
| 24 | Dow Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-02-27 | 0001193125-26-082583 | CEO total compensation as printed in Dow Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 19,078,777. Filing ↗machine: t107 · r2 · c33 · span 2553990–2554000 |
| 25 | DuPont de Nemours, Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-10 | 0001193125-26-151204 | CEO total compensation as printed in DuPont de Nemours, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 16,134,250. Filing ↗machine: r4 · c44 · span 1255492–1255502 |
| 26 | LyondellBasell Industries N.V., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-10 | 0001308179-26-000250 | CEO total compensation as printed in LyondellBasell Industries N.V.'s own proxy. As printed: 15,577,445. Filing ↗machine: t221 · r1 · c18 · span 929522–929532 |
| 27 | The Mosaic Company, Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-16 | 0001285785-26-000061 | CEO total compensation as printed in The Mosaic Company's own proxy. As printed: 10,410,935. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c27 · span 1181374–1181384 |
| 28 | Celanese Corporation, Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-03-04 | 0001306830-26-000052 | CEO total compensation as printed in Celanese Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 10,137,072. Filing ↗ |
| 29 | The Chemours Company, Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-03-10 | 0001104659-26-025935 | CEO total compensation as printed in The Chemours Company's own proxy. As printed: 8,595,076. Filing ↗machine: r1 · c55 · span 1531474–1531483 |
| 30 | Builders FirstSource, Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-02 | 0001193125-26-140509 | CEO total compensation as printed in Builders FirstSource, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 8,133,324. Filing ↗machine: span 2406984–2406993 |
| 31 | Masco Corporation, Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-10 | 0001193125-26-151241 | CEO total compensation as printed in Masco Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 6,641,952. Filing ↗machine: r4 · c44 · span 672880–672889 |
| 32 | Westlake (subject), Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-02 | 0001193125-26-138974 | CEO total compensation as printed in Westlake's own proxy. As printed: 6,423,651. Filing ↗machine: t87 · r13 · c27 · span 304138–304147 |
| 33 | Section 10a, Celanese Corporation reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001306830-26-000052 | Celanese Corporation's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Westlake. Filing ↗ |
| 34 | Section 10a, DuPont de Nemours, Inc. reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001193125-26-151204 | DuPont de Nemours, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Westlake. Filing ↗ |
| 35 | Section 10a, The Chemours Company reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001104659-26-025935 | The Chemours Company names Westlake in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). Filing ↗ |
| 36 | Section 10a, Builders FirstSource, Inc. reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001193125-26-140509 | Builders FirstSource, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Westlake. Filing ↗ |
| 37 | Section 10a, The Mosaic Company reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001285785-26-000061 | The Mosaic Company's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Westlake. Filing ↗ |