Richard Long
About Richard Long
Richard K. Long joined The GEO Group in 2017 as Senior Vice President of Project Development after a 30-year career at Balfour Beatty Construction, where he led large-scale commercial and federal design-build programs and business units with cumulative construction value exceeding $5.0 billion . He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering (University of Missouri) and a B.S. in Construction Management (University of Louisiana–Monroe) . GEO’s executive compensation program is anchored to company performance—annual cash incentives tied to budgeted revenue and Adjusted EBITDA, and long-term equity incentives tied to ROCE and Relative TSR—providing a pay-for-performance framework relevant to Long’s senior leadership tenure . Recent company-level pay-versus-performance disclosures show cumulative TSR values ranging from 41–168 (value of $100 initial investment), and net income/Adjusted Net Income trends, contextualizing performance conditions used in incentives .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balfour Beatty Construction | Civil Engineer → Project Engineer → Chief Estimator → Assistant Project Manager → VP Preconstruction → SVP Business Acquisition → SVP & South Florida Business Unit Leader | ~30 years | Led $600M annual South Florida business; extensive design-build/government project delivery; cumulative project value >$5B |
| The GEO Group | Senior Vice President, Project Development | 2017–present | Senior leadership in development across secure facilities and government projects |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Associated Builders and Contractors (Florida chapter) | Long-time member; past chairman | N/A | Industry leadership and advocacy in construction standards/practices |
| Society of American Military Engineers (SAME), South Florida chapter | Founding member; past president | N/A | Recognized at 2012 National Joint Engineer Training Conference; strengthens public sector engineering networks |
Fixed Compensation
- Richard Long is not listed as a Named Executive Officer (NEO) in GEO’s 2025 proxy, and his specific base salary, bonus, and perquisites are not disclosed. GEO’s program design includes annual base salaries under executive employment agreements and periodic market-aligned increases administered by the Compensation Committee .
- GEO uses independent consultant Pay Governance; stock ownership requirements for non-CEO executive officers are at least 3x base salary, with compliance required within five years of appointment .
Performance Compensation
- Annual cash incentives: Determined under the Performance Award Plan based on budgeted Adjusted EBITDA and budgeted revenue goals set by the Compensation Committee (consistent with 2024/2025 methodology) .
- Equity incentives: Historically 100% performance-based restricted stock for NEOs (excluding Executive Chairman) using ROCE and Relative TSR over a three-year performance period (e.g., 2024 grants vest by March 15, 2027 if earned) .
- LTIP update for 2025: Shift to 50% time-based restricted stock (three-year vesting) and 50% performance-based (ROCE and TSR), with max payout reduced to 180% (from 200%) .
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual/Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adjusted EBITDA (Annual Cash Incentive) | Not disclosed for Long; plan uses EBITDA | Committee-set budget | Paid per plan results; specifics for Long not disclosed | Annual, paid following year |
| Revenue (Annual Cash Incentive) | Not disclosed for Long; plan uses revenue | Committee-set budget | Paid per plan results; specifics for Long not disclosed | Annual, paid following year |
| ROCE (Performance RS) | Performance metric; component of equity awards | 3-year period goals | Earned shares per achievement; specifics for Long not disclosed | Typically 3-year cliff/multi-year vest; e.g., 2024 grants vest by Mar 15, 2027 if earned |
| Relative TSR (Performance RS) | Performance metric; component of equity awards | 3-year period goals (Monte Carlo valuation for disclosure) | Earned shares per percentile; specifics for Long not disclosed | As above; 2025 LTIP caps max at 180% |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Beneficial ownership: The 2025 proxy discloses directors/NEOs and >5% holders; Richard Long is not listed, implying his holdings are below reporting thresholds for that table .
- Stock ownership guidelines: 3x base salary for executive officers; counts actual, vested/unvested restricted shares, and threshold-level performance shares; compliance required within five years. Company states executives/directors have met or have time remaining to meet guidelines .
- Hedging/pledging: Prohibited under Insider Trading Policy; waivers may be granted case-by-case (e.g., a waiver was granted to Brian Evans; ~303,011 shares pledged) .
- Insider selling restrictions: Senior Executives may sell up to 20% of total issued options and up to 20% of vested restricted stock in a calendar year, subject to prior approvals; tax/option exercise-related sales excluded from cap. 10b5-1 plans permitted, subject to policy .
Employment Terms
- Specific employment agreement terms for Richard Long are not disclosed.
- Company-level patterns: Executive employment agreements include non-competition covenants typically running two years post-termination; other agreements may provide defined salary/benefit continuations and equity vesting mechanics, as illustrated for certain executives (e.g., Mr. March, 2024) .
- Governance practices: Double-trigger change-in-control arrangements; clawback policy adopted in Oct 2023 per SEC/NYSE rules, enabling recovery of incentive compensation following accounting restatement over the prior three fiscal years .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Long’s role in project development aligns with GEO’s incentive architecture focused on revenue/Adjusted EBITDA and ROCE/Relative TSR, which supports shareholder value creation and disciplined capital deployment across large facility projects .
- Retention and selling pressure: Insider selling is structurally constrained by the 20% cap and preclearance, reducing near-term selling overhang risk from Senior Executives; hedging/pledging prohibitions further reinforce alignment (with limited waiver precedent) .
- Contract visibility: Lack of publicly disclosed individual employment/severance terms for Long is typical for non-NEO officers; investors should monitor future 8-Ks and proxies for any change-in-role events (Item 5.02) that would surface compensatory arrangements.
- Performance risk: Equity incentives tied to ROCE and TSR and annual cash incentives tied to budgeted revenue/Adjusted EBITDA introduce performance risk and upside, with 2025 LTIP moderation (adding time-based components, lowering max payout) signaling balanced retention vs. performance culture .