Talen Energy Corp. paid more than $18.7 million in total compensation last year to Andrew Wright and John Wander, both of whom once worked at Vinson & Elkins. This information was disclosed in an S-1 filing. Wright earned about $9.8 million last year overseeing human resources, information technology, facilities, and corporate security functions. Wander, who oversees all legal matters at Talen, received nearly $9 million during fiscal 2023.
The bulk of their compensation comes from stock awards in Talen valued at more than $7 million each, vesting over a three-year period. Wright also received a bonus of $586,600, while Wander’s bonus amounted to $250,000. These bonuses were tied to the resolution of bankruptcy proceedings involving the company, agreed upon by its creditors.
Houston-based Talen, which spun-off in 2015 from energy giant PPL Corp., is one of North America’s largest power generation and infrastructure companies. The company and its energy supply unit emerged from Chapter 11 in May 2023. Until last year, Talen was backed by private equity firm Riverstone Holdings LLC.
Wright left Vinson in 2004 to join Dallas-based electric utility Energy Future Holdings Corp., where he held several roles, including general counsel, before joining Talen 14 years later. After spending five years as Talen’s general counsel, he became its chief administrative officer in June 2023.
Wander joined Talen as general counsel and corporate secretary that same month, after nearly three decades at Vinson. During his tenure, Wander was a commercial litigator handling cases related to accounting, finance, and shareholder issues on behalf of clients in the energy, insurance, manufacturing, securities, and accounting industries.
Talen has relied on Vinson to handle over 6% of its caseload in US federal courts within the last three years, according to Bloomberg Law data. More recently, Kirkland & Ellis counseled Talen on the $785 million sale of three natural gas plants in Texas to CPS Energy, which was advised by Dykema.
For further details, visit the original article on Bloomberg Law: Talen Energy Pays Two Ex-V&E Lawyers Nearly $19 Million Jointly.