Daniel Sweeney
About Daniel Sweeney
Daniel T. Sweeney is Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Prairie Operating Co. (PROP). He joined in July 2023 and is age 48 as of the 2025 proxy, with prior legal leadership at Great Western Petroleum (2018–2022), Eclipse Resources (2013–2018), Chesapeake Energy (2010–2013), and Rex Energy (2008–2010); he holds a BA in Political Science (Case Western Reserve University, 1999) and a JD (Duquesne University, 2005) . Company pay-versus-performance disclosures show cumulative TSR from a $100 initial investment declined from $10.78 in 2023 to $8.07 in 2024, while net losses narrowed year over year .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Western Petroleum, LLC | SVP, General Counsel and Secretary | Jun 2018–May 2022 | Led legal function at private E&P; role ended upon sale to PDC Energy |
| Eclipse Resources Corp. | Director, Assistant Secretary, Associate General Counsel | May 2013–Jun 2018 | Supported corporate legal operations at upstream operator |
| Chesapeake Energy Corp. | Legal roles | Nov 2010–May 2013 | Legal support at large-cap E&P |
| Rex Energy Corp. | Legal roles | Apr 2008–Nov 2010 | Legal support at then-public E&P |
External Roles
No external public-company directorships disclosed for Sweeney in PROP’s proxy materials .
Fixed Compensation
- Sweeney is not presented as a Named Executive Officer (NEO) in PROP’s 2024 or 2025 proxies; specific salary/bonus details for him are not disclosed .
Performance Compensation
- Special Retention Awards (under discussion): The Compensation Committee plans one-time time-based RSUs vesting over up to three years for executive officers, including Sweeney, to recognize execution of the Bayswater acquisition and strengthen retention and alignment; design advised by Zayla (a Gallagher company) .
- Company PSU framework: For NEOs, PSUs vest 0–200% based on relative TSR over the 1/1/2024–12/31/2026 performance period; while this illustrates firm-wide metrics, the proxy does not state that Sweeney received PSUs .
Incentive Design and Payout Mechanics (Company Framework)
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Relative TSR (Company PSU design) | Not stated | Peer-relative TSR over 3 years | Not disclosed | 0–200% of target | Cliff vest in Mar 2027 for the 2024–2026 cycle |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Hedging and pledging prohibition: Directors and officers are prohibited from hedging transactions, short sales, derivatives, and pledging company stock as collateral per PROP’s Insider Trading Policy, supporting alignment and reducing leverage-related risks .
- Clawback: All awards under the Long-Term Incentive Plan are subject to PROP’s Clawback Policy (Dodd-Frank–aligned), enabling recoupment upon restatements or specified misconduct .
- Section 16 compliance note: Sweeney filed a Form 3 two days late in July 2023; otherwise Section 16 compliance was timely for 2023 per the proxy .
Employment Terms
- Start date and tenure: EVP, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary since July 2023 (approx. 2+ years as of late 2025) .
- Change-of-control and vesting (plan-level terms): Under PROP’s LTIP, if RSU/PSU awards are not assumed/substituted in a qualifying transaction, RSUs vest 100%; if employment terminates without Cause or for Good Reason within 24 months post-change-of-control, RSUs vest 100% and PSUs vest at the greater of target or actual-to-date; settlement timing per award agreements. These are plan-wide terms; individual grants to Sweeney are not disclosed .
Performance & Track Record
| Metric | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenues ($) | —* | 7,939,000* |
| EBITDA ($) | (15,549,212)* | (30,481,000)* |
| Net Income ($) | (79,080,000)* | (40,912,000)* |
| Cash from Operations ($) | (11,941,000)* | (9,348,000)* |
| TSR Value of $100 Investment | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Cumulative Value ($) | 10.78 | 8.07 |
- Bayswater acquisition: The company executed a transformative acquisition adding ~25,600 net BOEPD (69% liquids), expanding footprint and inventory duration, with expectations to significantly increase free cash flow and efficiencies—cited as rationale for contemplated executive retention awards .
Values retrieved from S&P Global.*
Risk Indicators & Red Flags
- Dilution risk: The 2025 proxy seeks to double the LTIP share reserve to 15,000,000, implying potential dilution of ~11.1% on a fully diluted basis as of April 8, 2025 (excluding Series F) .
- Compliance: Insider hedging/pledging prohibitions reduce misalignment risks; minor Section 16 timing issue noted for Sweeney’s initial Form 3 filing .
- Related parties: Extensive related-party and financing transactions disclosed; none attribute interests to Sweeney -.
Compensation Committee Analysis
- Independent consultant: Zayla (a Gallagher company) advising the Compensation Committee on the contemplated special retention RSU grants .
- Plan governance: No repricing of options/SARs without stockholder approval; clawback-compliant; director award caps; LTIP broad participation for retention and alignment -.
Investment Implications
- Retention risk: Moderate near term as the board contemplates multi-year time-based RSUs across the executive team (including Sweeney), which should reduce voluntary turnover and align incentives through vesting .
- Alignment: Strong due to explicit prohibitions on hedging and pledging and clawback provisions; pay-for-performance constructs via relative TSR PSUs at the company level, though Sweeney’s individual PSU awards are not disclosed .
- Dilution overhang: The proposed LTIP share increase (additional 7.5M) and ongoing equity-heavy retention strategy increase dilution risk; monitor execution, free cash flow realized post-Bayswater, and future grant sizing .
- Performance baseline: TSR compressed from 2023 to 2024 and EBITDA remained negative; free cash flow improvements from Bayswater are critical to validate equity-based retention and incentive design .