John Wilder

About C. John Wilder

C. John Wilder, age 67, is an independent director of Evergy (EVRG) since 2021 and currently chairs the Board’s Finance Committee and serves on the Audit Committee. He is Executive Chairman of Bluescape Energy Partners and is recognized for turnaround leadership at TXU and board service at NRG Energy; he holds a B.S. in business administration (Southeast Missouri State University) and an MBA (University of Texas) . The Board has determined he is independent; Evergy’s governance framework includes executive sessions at each Board and committee meeting and a Lead Independent Director structure .

Past Roles

External Roles

Board Governance

Fixed Compensation (Director)

Performance Compensation

• Director equity is delivered as common stock (not options) and may be deferred into DSUs; there are no performance metrics tied to non-employee director equity awards. DSUs accrue dividend equivalents and settle in stock after Board service ends per director elections .
• Evergy prohibits short selling, hedging, and pledging of Company stock by directors, enhancing alignment with long-term shareholders .

Other Directorships & Interlocks

No Compensation Committee interlocks or insider participation disclosed for Evergy’s Compensation and Leadership Development Committee in 2024; none of the committee members (Lawrence, Isaac, Landrieu, Price) was an officer/employee or had relationships requiring Item 404 disclosure .

Expertise & Qualifications

• Financial/accounting and investment management expertise; designated Audit Committee financial expert .
• Deep operational and regulatory experience in electric utilities; strategy development and risk oversight competence reflected in Board core competencies matrix .
• Turnaround track record recognized by Harvard Business Review and Institutional Investor (biographical achievements) .

Equity Ownership

Governance Assessment

• Signals supporting investor confidence

  • Independence affirmed; AC “financial expert” designation; chairs Finance Committee overseeing capital structure, allocation, and key financial risks .
  • Material skin-in-the-game via significant beneficial ownership linked to Bluescape’s BEP Special Situations V LLC plus DSUs; director ownership guidelines met across the Board; hedging/pledging prohibited .
  • Strong governance framework: majority voting, proxy access, executive sessions, clawback policy; high 2024 say-on-pay support (96%) indicating positive shareholder sentiment on compensation oversight .
  • No related party transactions requiring Item 404 disclosure since start of FY2024; no Compensation Committee interlocks .

• Watch items / potential conflicts

  • Affiliation with a substantial Evergy shareholder (BEP Special Situations V LLC) could create perceived influence; Wilder disclaims beneficial ownership beyond pecuniary interest; Board reports no related-party transactions and maintains independence determinations under Nasdaq standards .
  • As Finance Chair and Audit member, he is central to capital planning and financial reporting oversight; committee attendance is strong at the committee level (Audit 100%; Finance 94%), and Board confirms >75% attendance for all incumbents .

Appendix: Committee Snapshot (2024)

Director Compensation Detail (2024)

2024 director compensation structure: $115,000 annual cash retainer; $20,000 per committee chair; $155,000 annual equity retainer paid in Evergy common stock following the annual meeting (May 8, 2024); optional deferral of cash/equity into DSUs; charitable match; standard D&O insurance and indemnification .

Say-on-Pay & Shareholder Feedback (Context)

• 2024 say-on-pay approval ~96%, reflecting broad investor support for compensation practices under Board oversight; Board recommends annual advisory vote cadence .