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DEF 14A Filing
Westwater Resources (WWR) DEF 14ADefinitive proxy
Filed: 5 Apr 24, 4:15pm
| ![]() | | | Westwater Resources, Inc. 6950 S. Potomac Street, Suite 300 Centennial, Colorado 80112 | |
| | | | By Order of the Board of Directors, | |
| | | | /s/ JOHN W. LAWRENCE John W. Lawrence, Corporate Secretary | |
| | Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be Held on May 30, 2024: The Notice of Annual Meeting, Proxy Statement and 2023 Annual Report to Stockholders are available at www.westwaterresources.net. | | |
| Date and Time: | | | Thursday, May 30, 2024, at 8:00 a.m., mountain daylight time | |
| Record Date: | | | Thursday, April 4, 2024 | |
| Location: | | | Via a live webcast at www.cesonlineservices.com/wwr24_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 5) | | | 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 by 3,000,000 shares and to increase the limit on shares of stock that may be granted in a calendar year to any eligible person to 800,000 shares (page 17) | | | FOR | |
3. | | | Advisory vote to approve our executive compensation (page 24) | | | FOR | |
4. | | | Ratification of the appointment of Moss Adams LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for 2024 (page 43) | | | FOR | |
5. | | | Increase the number of authorized shares of common stock from 100,000,000 shares to 200,000,000 shares (page 44) | | | FOR | |
Name | | | Age | | | Director Since | | | Audit | | | Compensation | | | Committees Nominating and Corporate Governance | | | Safety, and Sustainability | |
Terence J. Cryan+ | | | 61 | | | 2017; 2006-16 | | | | | | | | | | | | x | |
Frank Bakker# | | | 59 | | | 2023 | | | | | | | | | | | | Ch. | |
Tracy D. Pagliara* | | | 61 | | | 2017 | | | x | | | x | | | Ch. | | | | |
Karli S. Anderson* | | | 50 | | | 2018 | | | x | | | Ch. | | | | | | x | |
Deborah A. Peacock* | | | 67 | | | 2020 | | | Ch. | | | x | | | x | | | | |
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| ![]() | | | Westwater Resources, Inc. 6950 S. Potomac Street, Suite 300 Centennial, Colorado 80112 | |
| • Proposal 1: | | | Elect as directors the five nominees named in this proxy statement. | |
| • Proposal 2: | | | Approve an amendment to the Westwater Resources, Inc. 2013 Omnibus Incentive Plan, as amended, (a) to increase the authorized number of shares of common stock available and reserved for issuance under such plan by 3,000,000 shares and (b) to increase the limit on shares of stock that may be granted in a calendar year to any eligible person to 800,000 shares. | |
| • Proposal 3: | | | Approve, on an advisory basis, our executive compensation. | |
| • Proposal 4: | | | Ratify the appointment of Moss Adams LLP as our independent registered public accountant for 2024. | |
| • Proposal 5: | | | Approve an increase in the number of authorized shares of common stock from 100,000,000 shares to 200,000,000 shares. | |
Name | | | Age | | | Director Since | | | Primary Occupation | |
Terence J. Cryan | | | 61 | | | 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 | | | 59 | | | 2022 | | | President and Chief Executive Officer, Westwater Resources, Inc. | |
Tracy D. Pagliara | | | 61 | | | 2017 | | | Chief Executive Officer, TPAG Enterprises, LLC | |
Karli S. Anderson | | | 50 | | | 2018 | | | Executive Vice President, Chief People and ESG Officer, and Head of Communications, Summit Materials, Inc. | |
Deborah A. Peacock | | | 67 | | | 2020 | | | President, CEO & 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+ | | | | | 150,000 | | | | | | 95,000 | | | | | | 245,000 | | |
Tracy D. Pagliara | | | | | 100,000 | | | | | | 95,000 | | | | | | 195,000 | | |
Karli S. Anderson | | | | | 100,000 | | | | | | 95,000 | | | | | | 195,000 | | |
Deborah A. Peacock | | | | | 100,000 | | | | | | 95,000 | | | | | | 195,000 | | |
Name | | | Number of Vested Options | | | Number of Unvested Options | | | Restricted Stock Units | | |||||||||
Terence J. Cryan+ | | | | | 53,653 | | | | | | — | | | | | | 177,221 | | |
Tracy D. Pagliara | | | | | 53,653 | | | | | | — | | | | | | 158,279 | | |
Karli S. Anderson | | | | | 131,427 | | | | | | 117,637 | | | | | | — | | |
Deborah A. Peacock | | | | | 52,707 | | | | | | — | | | | | | 183,279 | | |
| | | Numbers of Shares | | | As a % of Common Stock Outstanding | | ||||||
Stock options outstanding(1) | | | | | 424,826 | | | | | | 0.75% | | |
Restricted stock units outstanding | | | | | 1,217,914 | | | | | | 2.14% | | |
Restricted stock awards outstanding | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
Shares available for grant | | | | | 560,254 | | | | | | 0.98% | | |
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) | | | | | 1,642,740 | | | | | $ | 2.66 | | | | | | 560,254 | | |
Name | | | Age | | | Position | |
Frank Bakker | | | 59 | | | President and Chief Executive Officer | |
Steven M. Cates | | | 44 | | | Senior Vice President — Finance, Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer | |
John W. Lawrence | | | 62 | | | Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary | |
Name | | | Title | | | Dates of Service (FY2023 to date) | |
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 | |
Steve M. Cates | | | Vice President — Finance, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer Senior Vice President — Finance, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer | | | August 26, 2022 − January 16, 2023 January 16, 2023 to date | |
John W. Lawrence | | | General Counsel and Corporate Secretary Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary | | | January 1, 2022 − January 16, 2023 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 | |
Objective | | | Description | |
| | | 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 | | |||||||||
2023 Annual Meeting | | | | | 83% | | | | | | 15% | | | | | | 2% | | |
2022 Annual Meeting | | | | | 76% | | | | | | 21% | | | | | | 3% | | |
2021 Annual Meeting | | | | | 84% | | | | | | 13% | | | | | | 3% | | |
Name | | | Title | | | Period of Service | | | 2023 Base Salary | | |||
Chad M. Potter+ | | | President & Chief Executive Officer | | | January 1 to January 16, 2023 | | | | $ | 285,000 | | |
Frank Bakker | | | President & Chief Executive Officer | | | January 16 to February 25, 2023 | | | | $ | 285,000 | | |
| | | | | | February 26 to December 31, 2023 | | | | $ | 325,000 | | |
Steve M. Cates* | | | Senior Vice President — Finance & Chief Financial Officer | | | January 1 to February 25, 2023 | | | | $ | 245,000 | | |
| | | | | | February 26 to December 31, 2023 | | | | $ | 306,000 | | |
John W. Lawrence# | | | Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary | | | January 1 to February 25, 2023 | | | | $ | 265,000 | | |
| | | | | | February 26 to December 31, 2023 | | | | $ | 306,000 | | |
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) | | ||||||||||||||||||
2023(7) | | | | $ | 1,217,268 | | | | | $ | 823,702 | | | | | $ | 618,636 | | | | | $ | 521,547 | | | | | $ | 11.36 | | | | | ($ | 7,751) | | |
2022 | | | | $ | 698,632 | | | | | $ | 314,920 | | | | | $ | 449,558 | | | | | $ | 273,150 | | | | | $ | 16.02 | | | | | ($ | 11,121) | | |
2021 | | | | $ | 800,264 | | | | | $ | 530,141 | | | | | $ | 398,653 | | | | | $ | 300,039 | | | | | $ | 44.62 | | | | | ($ | 16,144) | | |
Position(6) | | | Officer | | | Year | | | Salary Paid | | | RSU Stock Award (Grant date value) | | | Cash Bonus | | | Other Compensation(5) | | | Total | | ||||||||||||||||||
Chief Executive Officer & President | | | Frank Bakker(1) | | | | | 2023 | | | | | | 317,154 | | | | | | 425,000 | | | | | | 167,403 | | | | | | 9,611 | | | | | | 919,168 | | |
| | | | | | | | 2022 | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
Chief Executive Officer & President | | | Chad M. Potter(2) | | | | | 2023 | | | | | | 12,058 | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | 286,042 | | | | | | 298,100 | | |
| | | | | | | | 2022 | | | | | | 281,548 | | | | | | 313,750 | | | | | | — | | | | | | 31,123 | | | | | | 626,421 | | |
Chief Financial Officer Senior VP – Finance & Treasurer | | | Steve M. Cates(3) | | | | | 2023 | | | | | | 296,615 | | | | | | 183,600 | | | | | | 129,781 | | | | | | 6,788 | | | | | | 616,784 | | |
| | | | | | | | 2022 | | | | | | 229,206 | | | | | | 88,313 | | | | | | 91,875 | | | | | | 8,281 | | | | | | 417,675 | | |
Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary | | | John W. Lawrence(4) | | | | | 2023 | | | | | | 299,692 | | | | | | 183,600 | | | | | | 131,123 | | | | | | 6,072 | | | | | | 620,487 | | |
| | | | | | | | 2022 | | | | | | 224,342 | | | | | | 212,500 | | | | | | 99,375 | | | | | | 57,595 | | | | | | 593,812 | | |
| | | | | | | | | Option Awards | | | Stock Awards | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Name | | | Vesting Date | | | Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options (#) Exercisable | | | Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options (#) Unexercisable | | | Option Exercise Price ($) | | | Option Expiration Date | | | Equity Incentive Plan Awards: Number of Unearned Shares, Units or Other Rights That Have Not Vested (#) | | | Equity Incentive Plan Awards: Market or Payout Value of Unearned Shares, Units or Other Rights That Have Not Vested ($) | | |||||||||||||||||||||
Chad Potter(1) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Frank Bakker(2) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 454,929(3) | | | | | | 254,760 | | |
John W. Lawrence | | | | | 7/19/2019 | | | | | | 606 | | | | | | — | | | | | | 19.25 | | | | | | 7/19/2028 | | | | | | 283,098(4) | | | | | | 158,535 | | |
| | | | | 4/18/2019 | | | | | | 1,507 | | | | | | — | | | | | | 19.25 | | | | | | 4/18/2028 | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
Steven M. Cates | | | | | 5/10/2021 | | | | | | 9,498 | | | | | | — | | | | | | 3.77 | | | | | | 5/10/2031 | | | | | | 241,014(5) | | | | | | 134,968 | | |
Name(1) | | | Cash Severance | | | Equity Acceleration | | | Total Potential Payment | | |||||||||
Frank Bakker | | | | $ | 325,000 | | | | | $ | 254,760 | | | | | $ | 579,760 | | |
Steven M. Cates | | | | $ | 306,000 | | | | | $ | 134,968 | | | | | $ | 440,968 | | |
John W. Lawrence | | | | $ | 306,000 | | | | | $ | 158,535 | | | | | $ | 464,535 | | |
| | | 2023 | | | 2022 | | ||||||
Audit fees(1) | | | | $ | 322,030 | | | | | $ | 261,675 | | |
Audit-related fees | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
Tax fees | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
All other fees | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
| “The total number of shares of all classes of stock which the Corporation has authority to issue is 200,000,000 shares with a par value of $0.001 per share. The shares are designated as Common Stock, have one vote per share and have identical rights and privileges in every respect. The holders of the stock of the Corporation shall have no preemptive rights to subscribe for any securities of the Corporation.” | |
Name of Individual or Group | | | Number of Shares of Common Stock Beneficially Owned(1) | | | Percent of Class | | ||||||
Terence J. Cryan | | | | | 252,529 | | | | | | * | | |
Tracy D. Pagliara | | | | | 211,932 | | | | | | * | | |
Karli S. Anderson | | | | | 131,427 | | | | | | * | | |
Deborah A. Peacock | | | | | 396,386 | | | | | | * | | |
Frank Bakker | | | | | 125,681 | | | | | | * | | |
John W. Lawrence | | | | | 145,109 | | | | | | * | | |
Steven M. Cates | | | | | 99,764 | | | | | | * | | |
All directors and executive officers as a group (7 persons) | | | | | 1,362,827 | | | | | | 2.4% | | |