Lester Snow - Director | CALIFORNIA WATER SERVICE (CWT) Executive Profile & Compensation

About Lester A. Snow

Independent director at California Water Service Group; age 73; director since 2011. Snow is Chair of the Enterprise Risk Management, Safety, and Security Committee and serves on the Finance & Capital Investment and Organization & Compensation Committees. He brings 40+ years in water and natural resource management, with an MS in Water Resources Administration (University of Arizona) and a BS in Earth Sciences (Penn State). Independence status: Yes. No other public company boards.

Past Roles

Organization	Role	Tenure (if disclosed)	Committees/Impact
California Natural Resources Agency	Secretary	—	Public policy and regulatory expertise
California Department of Water Resources	Director	—	Operational and regulatory oversight in water mgmt.
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation	Regional Director	—	Federal water infrastructure/programs leadership
CALFED Bay-Delta Program	Executive Director	—	Multi-agency resource mgmt. coordination
San Diego County Water Authority	General Manager	—	Utility management and capital planning
California Water Foundation (Resources Legacy Fund initiative)	Executive Director	—	Water policy and funding initiatives

External Roles

Organization	Role	Notes
Klamath River Renewal Corporation	Director	Listed as “Other Positions” in the proxy biography

Board Governance

Committee	Role	Meetings in 2024	Executive Sessions in 2024	Independence
Enterprise Risk Management, Safety, and Security	Chair	3	3	All members independent (NYSE)
Finance & Capital Investment	Member	4	1	All members independent (NYSE)
Organization & Compensation	Member	3	3	All members independent; meets SEC/NYSE compensation independence

Board/committee engagement: 10 Board meetings and 16 committee meetings held in 2024; all incumbent directors attended at least 75%, with average 96%. All director nominees attended the 2024 annual meeting.
Board structure: All Board members independent except the CEO; mandatory director retirement age 75; regular executive sessions led by the Lead Independent Director.

Fixed Compensation

Component	Amount/Detail	Source
Annual base retainer (all non-employee directors)	$118,000
ERM, Safety & Security Committee Chair retainer	$15,000
2024 cash fees – Lester A. Snow	$133,000
2024 stock awards (grant-date fair value) – Lester A. Snow	$123,455
2024 total director compensation – Lester A. Snow	$256,455
2024 equity grant design	Restricted stock as annual Board retainer
2024 equity grant value/date/vesting	$115,500 granted June 5, 2024; fully vested March 5, 2025

Directors may elect to defer cash compensation under the deferred compensation plan.

Performance Compensation

Equity Instrument	Performance Metrics	Vesting	Options Use
Annual restricted stock award (RSA) for directors	None – time-based director retainer equity; no performance criteria disclosed for directors	2024 awards fully vested on March 5, 2025	Company historically has not granted stock options; 2024 director equity was RSAs (no options)

The Company’s at-risk, performance-based equity (PSUs) applies to executives, not directors. Director equity is time-based restricted stock.

Other Directorships & Interlocks

Category	Detail
Current public company boards	None for Snow (Other Public Company Boards: “—”)
Overboarding policy	Directors limited to four public company boards (Group counts as one); all directors in compliance.
Related-party transactions	None since the beginning of 2024 under SEC standards.

Expertise & Qualifications

Water/natural resources domain expertise (40+ years), including senior leadership roles at state and federal water agencies and major water utilities.
Skills matrix highlights: Senior Leadership; Human Capital Management; Sustainability/Government/Public Policy; Industry (water/utilities).
Education: MS, University of Arizona (Water Resources Administration); BS, Pennsylvania State University (Earth Sciences).

Equity Ownership

Ownership Item	Detail
Common stock beneficially owned (as of April 16, 2025)	27,615 shares – Lester A. Snow
RSAs outstanding at 12/31/2024	22,313 – Lester A. Snow
Ownership guidelines (directors)	5× annual base retainer; must retain 75% of net after-tax shares from equity awards until compliant; all non-employee directors and officers are in compliance.
Hedging and pledging policy	Hedging and pledging of Group stock prohibited for directors and officers.

Governance Assessment

Board effectiveness and risk oversight: Snow chairs the ERM, Safety & Security Committee and sits on Finance & Capital Investment and Organization & Compensation—positions central to enterprise risk, capital allocation, and executive pay governance. All three committees are fully independent, and the O&C Committee meets SEC/NYSE independence standards.
Engagement and accountability: Strong attendance culture (avg. 96% across directors) with regular executive sessions at both Board and committee levels; Snow’s committees (ERM and O&C) each held three executive sessions in 2024, supporting robust independent oversight.
Alignment and incentives: Director pay mix emphasizes equity via time-based RSAs; Snow’s 2024 mix was $133k cash and $123.5k stock awards (total $256.5k). Stock ownership guidelines require 5× retainer and retention of 75% of net shares until compliant; all directors are in compliance. Hedging and pledging are prohibited.
Conflicts and interlocks: No related-person transactions since 2024; Snow holds no other public company directorships, reducing interlock risk. Overboarding policy in place, with all directors compliant.
Succession planning note: The Company has a mandatory retirement age of 75; at 73, Snow is approaching the policy threshold, implying foreseeable refresh planning considerations.
RED FLAGS
- None disclosed: no related-party transactions, no hedging/pledging, and no option repricing or director options usage reported.