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DEF 14A Filing
Westwater Resources (WWR) DEF 14ADefinitive proxy
Filed: 14 Mar 23, 5:06pm
| | | Westwater Resources, Inc. 6950 S. Potomac Street, Suite 300 Centennial, Colorado 80112 | |
| | Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be Held on May 10, 2023: | | |
| | The Notice of Annual Meeting, Proxy Statement and 2022 Annual Report to Stockholders are available at www.westwaterresources.net. | | |
| Date and Time: | | | Wednesday, May 10, 2023, at 9:00 a.m., central daylight time | |
| Record Date: | | | Monday, March 13, 2023 | |
| Location: | | | Via a live webcast at www.cesonlineservices.com/wwr23_vm There will be no physical location for this Annual Meeting | |
Matter | | | Board Recommendation | |
1. Election of five nominees to our Board of Directors (page 6) | | | FOR each Director Nominee | |
2. Increase the authorized number of shares of common stock available and reserved for issuance under the 2013 Omnibus Incentive Plan (page 17) | | | FOR | |
3. Advisory vote to approve our executive compensation (page 23) | | | FOR | |
4. Advisory vote to approve the frequency of future advisory votes on our executive compensation (page 42) | | | EVERY ONE YEAR | |
5. Ratification of the appointment of Moss Adams LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for 2023 (page 43) | | | FOR | |
Name | | | Age | | | Director Since | | | Audit | | | Compensation | | | Committees Nominating and Corporate Governance | | | Safety and Sustainability | | |||||||||||||||
Terence J. Cryan+ | | | | | 60 | | | | 2017; 2006 – 16 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | x | | |
Frank Bakker# | | | | | 57 | | | | 2023 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Ch. | | |||
Tracy D. Pagliara* | | | | | 60 | | | | 2017 | | | | | x | | | | | | x | | | | Ch. | | | | | | | | |||
Karli S. Anderson* | | | | | 49 | | | | 2018 | | | | | x | | | | Ch. | | | | | | | | | | | x | | | |||
Deborah A. Peacock* | | | | | 66 | | | | 2020 | | | Ch. | | | | | x | | | | | | x | | | | | | | | |
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| | | Westwater Resources, Inc. 6950 S. Potomac Street, Suite 300 Centennial, Colorado 80112 | |
Name | | | Age | | | Director Since | | | Primary Occupation | |
Terence J. Cryan | | | 60 | | | 2017; 2006 – 2016 | | | Chairman of the Board, Westwater Resources, Inc. (Executive Chairman since February 26, 2022) and Managing Director, MACCO Restructuring Group, LLC | |
Frank Bakker | | | 57 | | | 2022 | | | President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Westwater Resources, Inc. | |
Tracy D. Pagliara | | | 60 | | | 2017 | | | President and CEO, Williams Industrial Services Group, Inc. | |
Karli S. Anderson | | | 49 | | | 2018 | | | Executive Vice President, Chief People and ESG Officer, and Head of Communications, Summit Materials, Inc. | |
Deborah A. Peacock | | | 66 | | | 2020 | | | President, CEO and Managing Director, Peacock Law P.C. | |
Board Member | | | Audit | | | Compensation | | | Nominating and Corporate Governance | | | Safety and Sustainability | |
Terence J. Cryan+ | | | | | | | | | | | | x | |
Frank Bakker# | | | | | | | | | | | | Ch. | |
Tracy D. Pagliara* | | | x | | | x | | | Ch. | | | | |
Karli S. Anderson* | | | x | | | Ch. | | | | | | x | |
Deborah A. Peacock* | | | Ch. | | | x | | | x | | | | |
Name | | | Fees Earned or Paid in Cash ($) | | | Stock Awards ($)(1) | | | Total ($) | | |||||||||
Terence J. Cryan+ | | | | | 280,034 | | | | | | 146,300 | | | | | | 426,334 | | |
Tracy D. Pagliara | | | | | 98,417 | | | | | | 70,000 | | | | | | 168,417 | | |
Karli S. Anderson | | | | | 100,000 | | | | | | 70,000 | | | | | | 170,000 | | |
Deborah A. Peacock | | | | | 98,417 | | | | | | 97,250 | | | | | | 195,667 | | |
Name | | | Number of Vested Options | | | Number of Unvested Options | | | Restricted Stock Units | | |||||||||
Terence J. Cryan+ | | | | | 53,653 | | | | | | — | | | | | | 134,220 | | |
Tracy D. Pagliara | | | | | 53,653 | | | | | | — | | | | | | 64,220 | | |
Karli S. Anderson | | | | | 52,707 | | | | | | 78,720 | | | | | | — | | |
Deborah A. Peacock | | | | | 52,707 | | | | | | — | | | | | | 64,220 | | |
| | | Numbers of Shares | | | As a % of Common Stock Outstanding(1) | | ||||||
Stock options outstanding(2) | | | | | 356,204 | | | | | | 0.71% | | |
Restricted stock units outstanding | | | | | 1,036,930 | | | | | | 2.07% | | |
Restricted stock awards outstanding | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
Shares available for grant | | | | | 415,815 | | | | | | 0.83% | | |
Plan Category | | | Number of shares issuable under outstanding options, warrants and rights (a) | | | Weighted average exercise price of outstanding options, warrants and rights (b) | | | Number of securities remaining available for future issuance under equity compensation plans (excluding securities reflected in column(a)) (c) | | |||||||||
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders(1)(2) | | | | | 1,393,134 | | | | | $ | 4.63 | | | | | | 415,815 | | |
Name | | | Age | | | Position | |
Frank Bakker | | | 57 | | | President and Chief Executive Officer | |
Steven M. Cates | | | 43 | | | Senior Vice President – Finance, Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer | |
John W. Lawrence | | | 61 | | | Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary | |
Name | | | Title | | | Dates of Service (FY2022 to date) | |
Christopher M. Jones | | | President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director | | | January 1, 2022 – February 25, 2022 | |
Chad M. Potter | | | President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director | | | February 25, 2022 – January 16, 2023 | |
Frank Bakker | | | President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director | | | January 16, 2023 to date | |
Jeffrey L. Vigil | | | Vice President – Finance and Chief Financial Officer | | | January 1, 2022 – August 26, 2022 | |
Steven M. Cates | | | Vice President – Finance and Chief Financial Officer | | | August 26, 2022 – January 16, 2023 | |
| Senior Vice President – Finance and Chief Financial Officer | | | January 16, 2023 to date | | ||
John W. Lawrence | | | General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | | | January 1, 2022 – January 16, 2023 | |
| Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | | | January 16, 2023 to date | |
Objective | | | Description | |
Attraction and Retention | | | The Company provides competitive compensation to its NEOs and ties a significant portion of compensation to time-based and performance-based vesting requirements. Together, these actions help to ensure that the Company can continue to attract and retain key management personnel. | |
Pay for Performance | | | A significant portion of each NEO’s compensation is “at-risk” or variable, based on predetermined performance criteria. Such criteria include both short- and long-term goals, as well as financial and non-financial goals. The Compensation Committee considers each of these criteria in making its compensation decisions each year. | |
Pay Mix | | | The Company uses a variety of forms of fixed and variable incentive compensation, including cash, stock, options and RSUs. | |
Alignment of Incentives | | | The Company requires its NEOs to obtain a significant stock ownership stake in the Company and tie a meaningful portion of NEO compensation to awards that vest over multi-year periods. | |
Competitive Packages | | | The Company evaluates its compensation program in an effort to provide a competitive compensation package to each NEO that takes into account their responsibilities, performance and organization. | |
Pay Element | | | Characteristics | | | Primary Objective | |
Base Salary | | | Annual fixed cash compensation | | | Attract and retain qualified and high performing executives | |
Short-Term Incentive Compensation | | | Annual compensation based on the achievement of predetermined performance goals | | | Incentivize NEOs and Company officers to achieve the short-term performance goals established by the Compensation Committee | |
Long-Term Incentive Compensation | | | Long-term equity awards granted as time-based and performance-based RSUs or stock options | | | Retain NEOs and Company officers and align their interests with the interests of the stockholders | |
| | | For Say-on-Pay Proposal | | | Against Say-on-Pay proposal | | | Abstain from Say-on-Pay Proposal | | |||||||||
2022 Annual Meeting | | | | | 76% | | | | | | 21% | | | | | | 3% | | |
2021 Annual Meeting | | | | | 84% | | | | | | 13% | | | | | | 3% | | |
2020 Annual Meeting | | | | | 72% | | | | | | 26% | | | | | | 2% | | |
2019 Annual Meeting | | | | | 39% | | | | | | 45% | | | | | | 16% | | |
2018 Annual Meeting | | | | | 45% | | | | | | 51% | | | | | | 4% | | |
Name | | | Title | | | Period of Service | | | 2022 Base Salary | | |||
Christopher M. Jones+ | | | President and Chief Executive Officer | | | January 1 – February 26, 2022 | | | | $ | 334,300 | | |
Chad M. Potter++ | | | President and Chief Executive Officer | | | February 25 – December 31, 2022 | | | | $ | 285,000 | | |
Jeffrey L. Vigil+++ | | | Vice President – Finance and Chief Financial Officer | | | January 1 – August 26, 2022 | | | | $ | 263,834 | | |
Steven M. Cates | | | Vice President – Finance and Chief Financial Officer | | | August 26 – December 31, 2022 | | | | $ | 245,000 | | |
John W. Lawrence | | | General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | | | February 26 – December 31, 2022 | | | | $ | 265,000 | | |
Position | | | Base Salary Ownership Multiple | | |||
Chief Executive Officer | | | | | 5X | | |
Other Named Executive Officers | | | | | 3X | | |
Other Officer and Vice Presidents | | | | | 2X | | |
Year | | | Summary Compensation Table Total for PEO(1) | | | Compensation Actually Paid to PEO(2) | | | Average Summary Compensation Table Total for Non-PEO NEOs(3) | | | Average Compensation Actually Paid to Non-PEO NEOs(4) | | | Value of Initial Fixed $100 Investment Based On Total Shareholder Return(5) | | | Net Income(6) | | ||||||||||||||||||
(a) | | | (b) | | | (c) | | | (d) | | | (e) | | | (f) | | | (g) | | ||||||||||||||||||
2022 | | | | $ | 698,632 | | | | | $ | 323,515 | | | | | $ | 466,358 | | | | | $ | 293,529 | | | | | $ | 16.02 | | | | | $ | (11,121) | | |
2021 | | | | $ | 800,264 | | | | | $ | 523,815 | | | | | $ | 398,653 | | | | | $ | 297,966 | | | | | $ | 43.61 | | | | | $ | (16,144) | | |
Position | | | Officer | | | Year | | | Salary Paid | | | RSU Stock Award (Grant date value) | | | Cash Bonus | | | Other Compensation(5) | | | Total | | ||||||||||||||||||
Chief Executive Officer & President | | | Christopher M. Jones(1) | | | | | 2022 | | | | | | 51,431 | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | 20,780 | | | | | | 72,211 | | |
| | | | | | | | 2021 | | | | | | 334,300 | | | | | | 250,725 | | | | | | 206,848 | | | | | | 8,391 | | | | | | 800,265 | | |
Chief Executive Officer & President | | | Chad M. Potter(2) | | | | | 2022 | | | | | | 281,548 | | | | | | 313,750 | | | | | | — | | | | | | 31,123 | | | | | | 626,421 | | |
| | | | | | | | 2021 | | | | | | 38,462 | | | | | | 221,667 | | | | | | 34,356 | | | | | | 106,404 | | | | | | 400,889 | | |
Chief Financial Officer & VP – Finance | | | Steven M. Cates(3) | | | | | 2022 | | | | | | 229,206 | | | | | | 88,313 | | | | | | 91,875 | | | | | | 8,281 | | | | | | 417,675 | | |
| | | | | | | | 2021 | | | | | | 134,039 | | | | | | 132,500 | | | | | | 32,667 | | | | | | 4,112 | | | | | | 303,318 | | |
General Counsel & Corporate Secretary | | | John W. Lawrence(4) | | | | | 2022 | | | | | | 224,342 | | | | | | 212,500 | | | | | | 99,375 | | | | | | 57,595 | | | | | | 593,812 | | |
| | | | | | | | 2021 | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | 302,400 | | | | | | 302,400 | | |
| | | Option Awards | | | Stock Awards | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Name | | | Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options (#) Exercisable | | | Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options (#) Unexercisable | | | Option Exercise Price ($) | | | Option Expiration Date | | | Equity Incentive Plan Awards: Number of Unearned Shares, Units or Other Rights That Have Not Vested (#) | | | Equity Incentive Plan Awards: Market or Payout Value of Unearned Shares, Unites or Other Rights That Have Not Vested ($) | | ||||||||||||||||||
Chad M. Potter(1) | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | 285,833(5) | | | | | | 225,808 | | |
John W. Lawrence | | | | | 606(2) | | | | | | — | | | | | | 19.25 | | | | | | 7/19/2028 | | | | | | 170,321(6) | | | | | | 134,554 | | |
| | | | | 1,507(3) | | | | | | — | | | | | | 19.25 | | | | | | 4/18/2028 | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
Steven M. Cates | | | | | 9,498(4) | | | | | | — | | | | | | 3.77 | | | | | | 5/10/2031 | | | | | | 96,894(7) | | | | | | 76,546 | | |
Name | | | Cash Severance | | | Equity Acceleration | | | Total Potential Payment | | |||||||||
Chad M. Potter(1) | | | | $ | 285,000 | | | | | $ | 225,808 | | | | | $ | 510,808 | | |
Steven M. Cates | | | | $ | 245,000 | | | | | $ | 76,546 | | | | | $ | 321,546 | | |
John W. Lawrence | | | | $ | 265,000 | | | | | $ | 134,554 | | | | | $ | 399,554 | | |
| | | 2022 | | | 2021 | | ||||||
Audit fees(1) | | | | $ | 261,675 | | | | | $ | 224,005 | | |
Audit-related fees | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
Tax fees | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
All other fees | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
Name of Individual or Group | | | Number of Shares of Common Stock Beneficially Owned(1) | | | Percent of Class | | ||||||
Terence J. Cryan | | | | | 209,528 | | | | | | * | | |
Tracy D. Pagliara | | | | | 117,873 | | | | | | * | | |
Karli S. Anderson | | | | | 52,707 | | | | | | * | | |
Deborah A. Peacock | | | | | 302,327 | | | | | | * | | |
Frank Bakker | | | | | 2,000 | | | | | | * | | |
John W. Lawrence | | | | | 65,599 | | | | | | * | | |
Steven M. Cates | | | | | 41,025 | | | | | | * | | |
All current directors and executive officers as a group (7 persons) | | | | | 791,059 | | | | | | 1.6% | | |