Neal Nagarajan

About Neal Nagarajan

Neal Nagarajan, age 40, is Senior Vice President and Head of Investor Relations at Centrus Energy (LEU), a role he has held since November 2024. He previously held senior investor relations roles at Sloane & Company and Sard Verbinnen & Co (now FGS Global), and earlier worked as an M&A investment banker; he holds an MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and dual degrees in Economics and International Affairs from The George Washington University . Company performance context during his tenure: in 2024 Centrus achieved $442 million in revenue, $73.2 million in net income, $111.5 million in gross profit, ended with $671 million in unrestricted cash, delivered 545 kg of HALEU to DOE, and grew backlog to $3.7 billion through 2040 . He regularly moderates earnings calls in his IR capacity, underscoring his role in investor communications .

Past Roles

External Roles

No external public company board roles or committee positions are mentioned for Mr. Nagarajan in Centrus’ DEF 14A or appointment press release .

Fixed Compensation

Not disclosed for Mr. Nagarajan in the latest proxy (DEF 14A focuses on NEOs: CEO, CFO, GC, SVP Sales, SVP Field Ops) .

Performance Compensation

Not specifically disclosed for Mr. Nagarajan. Centrus’ executive incentive framework provides context:

• Annual cash incentive awards reward achievement of corporate and individual goals; annual incentives can vary from 0% to 200% of target, with corporate goals set at the start of the year .
• 2024 annual incentive payouts for executives reflected achieving 167% of corporate goals (program-level outcome) .
• Long-term incentive program is 100% performance-based RSUs with overlapping three-year performance periods and minimum vesting; vesting subject to achieving a cumulative net income performance threshold .

Equity Ownership & Alignment

• Stock ownership guidelines: CEO must hold stock ≥2x base salary; other named executive officers must hold stock ≥1x base salary; until targets are met, at least 50% of shares from grants/exercises/vestings must be retained (guidelines apply to awards made after 2021; first grants under guidelines in 2024) .
• Clawback: Company-wide clawback under the 2014 Equity Incentive Plan; additional Exchange Act Section 10D-compliant clawback adopted Aug 3, 2023, requiring recovery of erroneously awarded incentive-based compensation after certain restatements; no recoveries have been sought to date .
• Hedging and pledging: Directors, executives, and employees are prohibited from short sales, hedging transactions, and pledging Company securities as loan collateral under the Insider Trading Policy (filed as Exhibit 19 to the 2024 Form 10-K) .

Employment Terms

• Executive Severance Plan (2024): For covered executives (outside a change in control), involuntary termination cash severance equals 1x base salary; prorated annual incentive based on actual performance; medical/dental/life insurance continuation and outplacement assistance. CEO has separate severance in his employment agreement; other executives’ coverage is via the plan .
• Change-in-Control Agreements: Centrus has CIC agreements with each named executive officer featuring double-trigger benefits (CIC plus involuntary termination/constructive termination within a protected period that begins three months before and ends three years after the CIC), including 2x the sum of base salary and bonus (bonus defined as the greater of target or the average of the last three annual bonuses) and continuation of life/health benefits for two years; company does not provide excise tax gross-ups .
• Notes on applicability to Mr. Nagarajan: The proxy explicitly references CIC agreements for named executive officers; it does not disclose whether non-NEO officers (such as Head of IR) have individual CIC agreements or severance coverage beyond the general plan .

Company Performance Context (Quantitative)

Ownership, Filings, and Trading Signals

• Role evidence and IR contact: Mr. Nagarajan serves as the investor contact on multiple Centrus 8‑K releases and earnings materials in 2024–2025 .
• Initial insider filing: Mr. Nagarajan filed a Form 3 (Initial Statement of Beneficial Ownership) on November 25, 2024, upon becoming an officer . Subsequent Form 4 transactions specifically for Mr. Nagarajan are not disclosed in the proxy; public SEC links can be monitored for updates .

Compensation Structure Analysis

• Pay-for-performance design: A substantial share of executive total compensation is “at risk”; at target, ~54% tied to performance (company-wide program constructs) .
• Shift to performance RSUs: Long-term incentives delivered entirely via performance-based RSUs with overlapping three-year periods since 2022; vesting requires hitting cumulative net income thresholds—this increases outcome sensitivity and defers value realization, supporting retention and alignment .
• Governance safeguards: No excise tax gross-ups; formal clawback policy; hedging and pledging prohibited; double-trigger CIC protection for NEOs—collectively reduce shareholder-unfriendly practices and align with best-practice governance .

Risk Indicators & Red Flags

• Hedging/pledging: Explicitly prohibited, reducing misalignment risk .
• Clawback: Robust and Exchange Act 10D-compliant; no enforcement history noted yet .
• Severance/CIC: Double-trigger CIC agreements only disclosed for NEOs; lack of disclosure for non-NEO officers (including Head of IR) leaves some uncertainty on individual severance protections and retention economics .
• Related party transactions: Formal review and approval policy; annual D&O questionnaires to identify items; no specific related party transactions involving Mr. Nagarajan disclosed .

Expertise & Qualifications

• Education: MBA (Georgetown McDonough); BA/BS-equivalent dual degrees in Economics and International Affairs (GWU) .
• Functional expertise: Investor relations leadership, capital markets communications, M&A advisory; strong experience engaging analysts/investors and leading IR programs .

Work History & Career Trajectory

• Investor Relations: Senior leadership roles at Sloane & Company and Sard Verbinnen/FGS Global; joined Centrus as SVP & Head of IR in Nov 2024 .
• Investment Banking: Prior M&A banker with closed high-profile transactions and strategic alternatives work .

Compensation Committee Analysis (Program-Level)

• Oversight by Compensation, Nominating & Governance (CN&G) Committee; independent consultant (WTW) utilized for compensation benchmarking and design .
• Annual corporate goals set each year; 2024 payout at 167% indicates targets were exceeded; LTIP equity is performance-based with minimum vesting .

Investment Implications

• Alignment: Governance guardrails (no hedging/pledging, clawback) and performance-based LTIP structure support alignment; stock ownership guidelines and retention ratio (50% of acquired shares until targets) further encourage skin-in-the-game—though explicit targets are specified for CEO/NEOs, not non-NEO officers .
• Retention risk: Mr. Nagarajan’s IR role is central to investor communications; specific severance/CIC terms for him are not disclosed—monitor for any 8‑K Item 5.02 updates or contract filings; lack of disclosed individual protections could modestly elevate retention uncertainty vs. NEOs .
• Trading signals: Track Form 3/4 filings for any equity grants or dispositions by Mr. Nagarajan to assess potential selling pressure or upcoming vesting events; current public references confirm Form 3 (11/25/2024) but do not show subsequent Form 4 transactions—ongoing monitoring recommended .
• Performance backdrop: Strong 2024 financial results and backlog growth create favorable IR context; continued visibility from hosting earnings calls underscores execution on investor engagement .

Note: Where program-level data is cited (annual incentive, LTIP design, CIC terms), disclosures apply to NEOs and certain key employees; the proxy does not specifically enumerate Mr. Nagarajan’s individual compensation, grants, or contract terms. Further details would require individual agreements or Form 4 filings not present in the DEF 14A excerpts.