Brad M. Watkins
About Brad M. Watkins
Brad M. Watkins is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. and Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., appointed effective August 1, 2022; he is 43, a CPA, and serves on the Management, Risk Management, Market Risk, Credit Risk, Liquidity Risk, Product Oversight, and New Product Committees . He spent ~19 years at KPMG, becoming a partner in 2015, and has deep expertise in U.S. GAAP/IFRS, SEC reporting, and broker-dealer regulatory compliance; he holds a B.S. in Accounting from NYU Stern (2003) and is a member of the AICPA . Company revenues increased from $944.6M* in FY2022 to $1,124.3M* in FY2024; EBITDA is not disclosed in SPGI for these years, so no EBITDA trend is available* [Values retrieved from S&P Global].
Company Revenues (FY 2022–FY 2024)*
| Metric | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues ($USD) | $944,557,000* | $947,939,000* | $1,124,274,000* |
Values retrieved from S&P Global.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| KPMG (New York Financial Services Audit Practice) | Partner | 2015–2022 | Led audits for broker-dealers and financial institutions; technical accounting and SEC reporting expertise |
| KPMG | Audit professional | 2003–2015 | Served large financial services clients; built regulatory and GAAP/IFRS depth |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) | Member | Not disclosed | Professional affiliation referenced in appointment |
Fixed Compensation
| Year | Base Salary ($) | Actual Cash Bonus ($) | All Other Compensation ($) | Total ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 125,000 | 500,000 | — | 958,900 |
| 2023 | 300,000 | 500,000 | — | 912,550 |
| 2024 | 300,000 | 750,000 | 2,200 | 1,182,330 |
- Offer letter base salary set at $300,000 annually (pro-rated for 2022) .
- Company does not provide executive perquisites such as tax gross-ups, split-dollar life insurance, or personal legal counsel; margin loans may be provided on market terms in margin accounts .
Performance Compensation
Equity Grants and Vesting
| Grant Year | Shares Granted to Watkins | Vesting Terms | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 (Initial grant upon commencement) | 10,000 | Cliff vest on Jan 25, 2025 (5th anniversary of issuance) | Outstanding at 12/31/24; vested on 1/25/25 |
| 2023 | 2,500 | Granted Jan 25, 2023; vest on Jan 24, 2026 (cliff) | Outstanding at 12/31/24 |
| 2024 | 3,500 | Granted Jan 25, 2024; vest on Jan 24, 2029 (cliff) | Outstanding at 12/31/24 |
| 2025 | 2,000 | Granted Jan 29, 2025; vest on Jan 28, 2030 (cliff) | Awarded for 2024 compensation framework |
- Stock awards are granted by the Compensation Committee at fair market value (closing price on grant date); grants generally use 3–5 year cliff-vesting as retention tools .
- Company does not backdate or spring-load equity awards .
Outstanding and Unvested Equity (as of 12/31/24)
| Award | Unvested Shares (#) | Market Value ($) | Pricing Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 grant (vested 1/25/25) | 10,000 | 723,800 | $72.38 close on 12/31/24 |
| 2023 grant | 2,500 | 180,950 | $72.38 close on 12/31/24 |
| 2024 grant | 3,500 | 253,330 | $72.38 close on 12/31/24 |
- No options outstanding for Watkins (zero exercisable/unexercisable options shown) .
Realized Pay (FY2024)
| Component | Amount ($) |
|---|---|
| Salary | 300,000 |
| Bonus | 750,000 |
| Vested Stock Awards | — |
| Non-Equity Incentive | — |
| Total Realized | 1,050,000 |
| % of Reported Compensation | 89% |
- For NEOs (including Watkins), realized pay is provided to supplement SEC tables; vested equity values are tallied at vest date prices when applicable .
Performance Metric Structure
- Watkins’ compensation comprises base salary, discretionary cash bonus, and time-based restricted stock awards; the proxy does not disclose formulaic performance metric weightings for the CFO (CEO/President frameworks are separately described) .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Holder | Class A Shares | % Class A | Class B Shares | % Class B |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B. Watkins | — | <1% | — | — |
- Beneficial ownership table (as of March 1, 2025) shows no Class A or B shares for Watkins; less than 1% ownership .
- Executive stock ownership guidelines: none for Named Executives (directors must hold at least 6,000 shares within three years); executives and directors are prohibited from short selling and derivative transactions in company stock .
- 2024/2023/2022 awards for Watkins (unvested) support long-term retention alignment via cliff vesting; awards/rights under the plan may not be sold, assigned, transferred, or pledged (other than limited family transfers of non-qualified options if permitted) .
Employment Terms
| Term | Provision |
|---|---|
| Employment status | At-will; appointed CFO effective Aug 1, 2022 |
| Base salary | $300,000 per year (pro-rated for 2022) |
| Bonus | Discretionary annual cash bonus eligibility; $500,000 paid for 2022; subsequent years discretionary |
| Initial equity grant | 10,000 Class A restricted shares upon commencement, vest on 5th anniversary |
| Separation pay (first 5 years, termination other than “For Cause”) | Minimum of 8 months’ base salary; prorated bonus equal to 67% of average of last three years’ discretionary bonuses (or lesser number if employed under three years) |
| Equity separation kicker | Payment equal to 10,000 × closing price on termination date × (whole months elapsed since grant ÷ 60) |
| Notice | 120 days prior written notice of retirement, resignation, or termination |
| Non-solicit | Agreement not to recruit company employees or clients for one year post-termination |
| Non-compete | Not disclosed |
| Deferred comp | No executive contributions reported for Watkins in 2024 (EDCP/CMDP) |
| Perquisites/loans | No tax gross-ups or special perqs; margin loans may be provided on market terms in margin accounts |
| Clawback | Company compensation recovery policy adopted 2011; updated 2017 and Oct 2023—recovers excess incentive comp tied to financial reporting measures upon restatements for prior three fiscal years |
| Change-in-control (Plan terms) | Unvested awards may be continued/assumed/adjusted or canceled for cash at “Change in Control Price”; appreciation awards can be canceled without payment if underwater; plan prohibits selling/assigning/pledging awards |
Investment Implications
- Retention risk: Low near-term due to recent vesting of the 10,000-share initial grant (Jan 25, 2025) and remaining unvested tranches of 2,500 (Jan 24, 2026), 3,500 (Jan 24, 2029), and 2,000 (Jan 28, 2030) that incentivize continued tenure; the severance framework within first five years adds further stability .
- Alignment: Minimal disclosed beneficial ownership as of March 1, 2025 suggests limited immediate “skin in the game,” but multi-year cliff vesting creates long-dated alignment; executives are restricted from hedging/derivatives, and awards cannot be pledged, reducing misalignment risk .
- Pay-for-performance: CFO compensation is largely salary plus discretionary bonus with time-based RSUs; absence of disclosed formulaic metrics for the CFO (vs. CEO/President frameworks) places emphasis on Compensation Committee discretion and overall firm performance; realized pay for 2024 was $1.05M (89% of reported) .
- Governance/controls: Robust clawback policy aligned with SEC/NYSE expectations, plus trading/ownership restrictions; margin loans allowed under market terms present limited credit risk disclosure but are common for broker-dealers .
- Company trajectory: Revenues increased to $1.12B* in FY2024 from ~$945M* in FY2022, supporting the firm’s recovery and growth narrative during Watkins’ tenure; continued equity grants align executive rewards with longer-term value creation* [Values retrieved from S&P Global] .