Peter Slaiby
Ocean Power TechnologiesAbout Peter E. Slaiby
Peter E. Slaiby (age 66) is an independent director of Ocean Power Technologies, serving on the Board since 2020. He chairs the Environmental & Sustainability Committee and serves on the Audit and Quality, Health & Safety Committees, bringing 37+ years of international energy operating and decommissioning leadership at Shell, plus roles with Floris Energy LLC and Quartz Energy Partners. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) from Vanderbilt University and completed the INSEAD International Directors Program. In fiscal 2024, the Board determined he is independent; he attended 100% of Board and committee meetings.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shell | Senior executive roles including Vice President, Alaska; Vice President, Decommissioning & Restoration; operations/field development across Syria, Brazil, Cameroon, UK, Brunei, Alaska and Gulf of Mexico | 37+ years | Performance turnarounds; decommissioning leadership and complex operations |
| — | — | — | — |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Floris Energy LLC | Managing Partner | Not disclosed | Business improvement consultant for oil & gas development and operations |
| Quartz Energy Partners – Upstream | Managing Director | Not disclosed | Upstream-focused role post-Shell |
Board Governance
- Independence and engagement: Independent director; 100% attendance at Board and all assigned committee meetings in FY2024.
- Board leadership: Board chaired by independent director Terence J. Cryan; CEO is separate (Philipp Stratmann).
- Committee assignments and chair roles (FY2024):
- Environmental & Sustainability Committee: Chair; 4 meetings.
- Quality, Health & Safety Committee: Member (Chair is C. Hewlett); 4 meetings.
- Audit Committee: Member (Chair is D. Purcel); 5 meetings.
Fixed Compensation
| Item | FY2024 Amount |
|---|---|
| Cash fees (retainer + committee roles) | $110,000 |
| Equity grant (RSUs grant-date fair value) | $75,000 |
| Total | $185,000 |
- Structure: Non-employee directors receive annual cash retainer of $70,000 plus per-committee supplements ($8,000–$30,000) and annual RSUs valued at $75,000; Board chair receives an additional $75,000.
Performance Compensation
- Director equity: In FY2024, Slaiby received 241,935 RSUs (service-based) as the standard annual director equity grant; no director-specific performance metrics are disclosed.
- Company pay-for-performance context overseen by the Board:
- Long-Term Incentive (LTI) program (adopted Jan 2024): RSUs vest one-third time-based (2025–2027), one-third on ISO certification milestones by 2027, one-third on cumulative contracted bookings by 2027; additional 10% annual grant add-on for positive annual TSR (capped at 30% over three years).
- Short-Term Incentive (STI) goals (FY2025) for NEOs:
| Category | Metric | Target Points / Thresholds |
|---|---|---|
| Financial | New bookings | 30 points at $18M (no points if <$13.5M) |
| Financial | Revenue | 40 points at $12.5M (no points if <$9.38M) |
| Financial | Adjusted operating income (loss) | 15 points at $(10)M (no points if loss > $(12.5)M) |
| Safety & Quality | Proactive measures implementation | 5 points |
| Safety & Quality | Total Recordable Incident Rate | 10 points |
Note: Directors’ compensation is not tied to these performance metrics; they reflect the company’s executive incentive framework under Board oversight.
Other Directorships & Interlocks
- The proxy biography lists Floris Energy LLC (Managing Partner) and Quartz Energy Partners – Upstream (Managing Director); it does not list other current public company directorships for Mr. Slaiby.
Expertise & Qualifications
- International offshore energy operations and decommissioning; performance turnarounds across global jurisdictions.
- Committee leadership in environmental and sustainability oversight; member of health & safety and audit oversight.
- Education: B.E. (Mechanical) Vanderbilt University; INSEAD International Directors Program.
Equity Ownership
| As-of Date | Total Beneficial Ownership (shares) | Common Shares | Options (exercisable within 60 days) | % of Outstanding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 18, 2024 | 206,871 | 187,742 | 19,129 | <1% |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 458,806 | 439,677 | 19,129 | <1% |
- Ownership policy: Independent directors are expected to achieve stock ownership equal to one times the annual cash retainer for each full year of service over five years.
- Hedging/pledging: Prohibited for directors; no pledging or hedging permitted.
Governance Assessment
-
Strengths
- Relevant domain expertise (global upstream operations, decommissioning) aligned with OPT’s marine energy and government-facing markets.
- Committee leadership (Environmental & Sustainability) and presence on Audit and QHS committees enhances oversight of ESG, safety, and financial reporting risk.
- Independence and full attendance support board effectiveness.
- Equity alignment: Standard annual RSU grants; beneficial ownership increased materially from Nov 2024 to Mar 2025, indicating rising exposure (still <1% of outstanding).
-
Watch items / red flags (company-level signals affecting governance risk)
- Say-on-pay support of 63% in 2023 (down from 70% in 2022) suggests investor scrutiny of pay practices.
- Auditor change in Aug 2024 to save costs and going-concern emphasis of matter in FY2024 audit report highlight financial risk backdrop for oversight.
- Company risk disclosures cite activist shareholder disputes and substantial doubt about going concern, increasing governance complexity during Mr. Slaiby’s tenure.
-
Related-party transactions/conflicts
- Proxy describes Audit Committee approval policy for related-party transactions; no specific related-party transactions involving Mr. Slaiby are disclosed in the reviewed proxy materials.