Brookdale Senior Living (BKD) executive compensation, 2026 proxy

Nikolas W. Stengle, Chief Executive Officer, was paid $5.3M in 2025. The CEO-to-median-employee pay ratio was 349:1, on median employee pay of $34,491.

Filed
April 30, 2026
Annual meeting
June 22, 2026
Pay year
2025
Named executives
8
CEO total pay
$5.3M2025
CEO to median employee
349:1median $34,491
CEO pay in equity
81%$4.3M in awards
Prior say-on-pay support
87%of votes cast
CEO annualized compensation
$6,713,265Used for pay ratio calculation
Median employee pay
$34,491Based on 33,000 employees
Say-on-pay support
87%Prior year advisory vote

How Stengle was paid

$5.3M in total for 2025, as reported in the Summary Compensation Table. Equity awards are valued at grant, not at what they turned out to be worth.

Salary4%Bonus7%Stock awards81%Non-equity incentive8%All other compensation0%

Named executive officers

ExecutiveTotal
Nikolas W. StengleChief Executive Officer$5,307,655
Dawn L. KussowExecutive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer$3,305,077
Chad C. WhiteExecutive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary$2,232,010
Jaclyn PritchettExecutive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer$945,606
Benjamin J. RicciFormer Division Vice President – East Division$898,410
Denise W. WarrenFormer Interim Chief Executive Officer$1,721,322
Lucinda M. BaierFormer President and Chief Executive Officer$10,388,008
H. Todd KaestnerFormer Executive Vice President – Corporate Development and President – CCRCs$2,172,805

What changed and why

  • Nikolas W. Stengle was appointed Chief Executive Officer effective October 6, 2025.
  • Lucinda M. Baier served as President and Chief Executive Officer until April 13, 2025.
  • Denise W. Warren served as Interim Chief Executive Officer from April 13, 2025 to October 6, 2025.
  • 87%Approximately 87 percent of votes cast supported the 2025 say-on-pay advisory vote.

About this page

Figures are automated and can be wrong; check the filing for the exact numbers. Totals follow SEC rules, which value stock and option awards at grant. Read the DEF 14A proxy statement for footnotes and the compensation committee's full reasoning.