Company: HLX
Filing Date: 2025-04-02
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0001140361-25-011655
Chunk: 63

Company: HELIX ENERGY SOLUTIONS GROUP INC
Filing Date: 2025-04-02
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 63
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| (1) | The amounts in this column consist of matching contributions by Helix through our Employees’ 401(k) Savings Plan. Mr. Sparks does not participate in our 401(k) plan. For 2022, Helix reinstated its previously suspended discretionary matching contributions at the rate of 50% of an employee’s pre-tax contributions up to 5% of the employee’s compensation, subject to contribution limits and such discretionary matching contributions by Helix remained at the same rate in 2023 and 2024. |

| 60 |     | 2025 Proxy Statement |     | Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. |

TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Compensation

Employment Agreements and Change in Control Provisions Each of our named executive officers has an employment agreement with Helix. Our employment agreements are a component of our overall employment arrangements and as such have the same primary objectives as our compensation program – to be sufficiently competitive to attract and retain executive officers. Payments to be made to any named executive officer under his employment agreement as a result of retirement, death, disability, termination for cause, termination by the executive for good reason, involuntary termination by Helix without cause or upon a change in control are based on such named executive officer’s employment agreement (or an applicable equity or equity-based award agreement). We have historically entered into employment agreements with executive officers contemporaneously with either the executive officer’s initial hiring by us or his or her promotion to an executive officer position. In order to provide consistency among our executive officers, we generally use the same form of employment agreement for multiple years, the current version of which does not have a “gross-up” provision for excise taxes. The form of employment agreement is reviewed by our management and by the Compensation Committee’s independent compensation consultant to determine whether its provisions are generally consistent with the employment agreements of our benchmarking peer group. The form of employment agreement is reviewed and approved by the Compensation Committee, both for use as a form and with respect to the specific terms applicable to each executive officer. Although we believe that each company in our benchmarking peer group understandably has forms of employment agreements that are different from ours, including with respect to specific severance payment provisions, we believe key employment contract provisions covering our executive officers remain in line with market practice and provide terms designed to attract and retain executive officers. Pursuant to his employment agreement, Mr. Kratz is entitled to receive a base annual salary, participate in the annual STI program, participate in the long-term incentive