Viktoryia Pulliam
GOLDEN ENTERTAINMENTAbout Viktoryia Pulliam
Viktoryia G. Pulliam, age 42, is Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer (principal accounting officer) of Golden Entertainment, Inc. (GDEN) since March 2025; she previously led Financial Reporting, Technical and Corporate Accounting, and is a licensed CPA in Nevada with 15+ years of financial leadership experience including nine years at Deloitte & Touche and two years at Everi Holdings Inc. . Her 2025 compensation framework at GDEN sets a base salary of $275,000, target annual bonus of 50% of base, and target long‑term incentive awards at 50% of base, aligning her pay mix with GDEN’s pay-for-performance model centered on Adjusted EBITDA outcomes . Company-level performance context: 2024 cumulative TSR equated to $178.40 per $100 initial investment; Net Income was $50.7 million and Adjusted EBITDA was $155.4 million for incentive program purposes, below threshold and delivering 0% annual bonus payout to NEOs, underscoring disciplined performance gating .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Entertainment, Inc. | Senior Vice President & Chief Accounting Officer | Mar 2025–present | Principal accounting officer; oversight of corporate accounting and reporting |
| Golden Entertainment, Inc. | Vice President, Financial Reporting, Technical & Corporate Accounting | Apr 2022–Mar 2025 | Led SEC reporting, technical accounting, and compliance |
| Golden Entertainment, Inc. | Director, Financial Reporting, Technical & Corporate Accounting | Jul 2020–Apr 2022 | Built reporting controls post corporate transactions; gaming regulatory readiness |
| Everi Holdings Inc. | Director of Financial Reporting | May 2018–Jul 2020 | Oversaw international and U.S. regulatory compliance and corporate accounting |
| Deloitte & Touche | Senior Manager | 9 years (ending prior to Jul 2020) | Led gaming industry audits and advisory; internal controls and SEC readiness |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nevada State Board of Accountancy | Licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) | Current | Credentials underpin audit-quality oversight, controls, and reporting rigor |
Fixed Compensation
| Year | Base Salary ($) | Target Bonus (%) | Target LTI (% of Base) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 275,000 | 50% | 50% |
- GDEN’s program emphasizes competitive market benchmarking and majority variable pay for senior executives; Aon served as independent consultant for 2024 program design .
Performance Compensation
| Component | Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Incentive (2024 program context) | Adjusted EBITDA (AIP calculation) | 100% | $188.8m | $155.4m | 0% of target | Cash; payable after year-end if employed |
| PSUs (2024 structure for NEOs) | Adjusted EBITDA (1‑yr earn, then service) | 100% of PSU earn decision | Earn range 0–200% | 0% earned for 2024 | 0% earned → no shares vest | Earned shares (if any) vest at 3rd anniversary via additional 2‑yr service |
- GDEN links “compensation actually paid” to Adjusted EBITDA and TSR; 2024 payouts were constrained by below-threshold EBITDA performance .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| As of | Type | Amount | Ownership Form | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 21, 2025 (Form 3 event date) | Common Stock | 845 | Direct (D) | Initial statement of beneficial ownership upon appointment |
| Mar 21, 2025 | RSUs (derivative) | 268 | Direct (D) | Vesting per award footnotes (not fully disclosed in excerpt) |
| Mar 21, 2025 | RSUs (derivative) | 600 | Direct (D) | Vesting per award footnotes (not fully disclosed in excerpt) |
| Mar 21, 2025 | RSUs (derivative) | 3,169 | Direct (D) | Vesting per award footnotes (not fully disclosed in excerpt) |
- Shares outstanding reference: 26,435,285 as of Mar 28, 2025; direct ownership ≈0.003% of shares outstanding (845/26,435,285) .
- Stock Ownership Guidelines: “All Other Executives” must hold GDEN stock equal to 1× annual base salary; time-based RSUs count, performance-based awards do not; compliance expected within 5 years of appointment . For Ms. Pulliam, guideline equals $275,000 market value based on her base salary .
- Insider Trading Policy: Prohibits short sales and trading in public options on GDEN securities; otherwise no additional hedging policy disclosed; no pledging policy disclosed in the proxy excerpts .
Employment Terms
- Appointment: Effective March 21, 2025, Ms. Pulliam became SVP & Chief Accounting Officer (principal accounting officer) .
- Compensation: Base salary $275,000; target annual bonus 50% of base; target long‑term incentive 50% of base .
- Equity Plan Mechanics: Restated 2015 Incentive Award Plan includes anti‑repricing without shareholder approval and broad equitable adjustment authority; change‑in‑control provisions provide for full vesting if awards are not continued/assumed by the surviving entity .
- Clawback Policy: Adopted Oct 2, 2023 per Dodd‑Frank/NASDAQ rules; awards subject to recovery per policy and plan terms .
- Severance / Change‑of‑Control: Company highlights double‑trigger change‑in‑control practice and caps; specific employment agreement severance terms for Ms. Pulliam are not disclosed in available filings .
Investment Implications
- Alignment and at‑risk mix: Ms. Pulliam’s pay structure (50% target bonus, 50% target LTI) ties economics to EBITDA‑linked outcomes and time-based equity vesting; the plan’s clawback and anti‑repricing provisions strengthen governance and downside alignment .
- Retention risk: Initial Form 3 indicates modest direct share ownership and multiple RSU positions, implying retention through multi‑year vesting; absence of disclosed personal severance terms increases uncertainty relative to NEOs, but company policy emphasizes double‑trigger change‑in‑control protections .
- Insider selling pressure: Document set shows no Form 4 trading for Ms. Pulliam through Q3 2025; combined with three‑year RSU/PSU structures, near‑term selling pressure appears limited absent separate transactions .
- Performance gating: 2024 EBITDA shortfall drove 0% payouts, evidencing strict performance discipline; should EBITDA improve, variable pay leverage rises, increasing sensitivity of realized compensation to operating execution .
Key watch items: future Form 4 filings (sales/net share settlements), progress toward ownership guideline ($275k market value), and any disclosure of Ms. Pulliam-specific severance/change‑in‑control terms .