Evercore Discloses $20 Million Target Performance Awards for Its New Co-Presidents

Evercore's compensation committee granted each of its incoming co-presidents a one-time performance award with a $20 million target value, the Form 8-K filed October 21 shows, putting numbers on a promotion the firm had announced three days earlier. Nigel Dawn and Naveen Nataraj were named to the roles in an October 18 release that TickerGrove reported that day; the filing attaches that release, describes the appointments under Item 5.02 and adds the pay terms the release omitted. It carries no revenue or profit figures for any period.

The filing behind an announcement already made

Dawn and Nataraj were named co-presidents from January 1, 2027, and both report to Weinberg. Evercore's board approved the appointments on October 16, 2026, and the release carrying them is dated October 18 — the day TickerGrove reported the change, including the reporting lines, the board's agreement that Weinberg would stay at least three more years and the reshuffle beneath them. The October 18 release was attached to the Form 8-K filed October 21 as Exhibit 99.1, and the filing describes the appointments under Item 5.02. What it adds is the compensation: award terms the release never mentioned.

Dawn, 62, is global head of Evercore's private capital advisory group and a member of its management committee; Nataraj, 51, is co-head of U.S. Investment Banking and also sits on that committee. Evercore, which calls itself "a premier global independent investment banking advisory firm", credits Dawn with building a "market-leading global Private Capital Advisory" franchise with teams in the United States, Europe and Singapore, and says Nataraj has advised clients on "transactions across a broad range of industries". In the new structure Dawn becomes chairman of that private capital business while Nataraj keeps advising clients.

Operating income and total return decide how much of the award is earned

The grant came from the compensation committee rather than the full board, and its size is a target rather than a fixed number of shares. According to the filing, "The number of PRSUs earned under each Award will be determined based on the achievement of operating income goals and relative total shareholder return over a three-year performance period beginning on the Effective Date and will range from 80% to 200% of the target number of PRSUs." Earned units cliff-vest on the fifth anniversary of the effective date, subject to continued employment, with exceptions the filing does not itemize. Evercore says the awards were designed in consultation with an independent compensation consultant to align the two executives with shareholders, reinforce their responsibility for future financial performance and improve retention. The filing also rules out side deals: it states that there are no other arrangements or understandings between either man and any other person under which he was selected.

Weinberg keeps the top job, with a stated three-year floor

This is a promotion beneath a sitting chief executive rather than a handover. Weinberg retains the chairman and CEO titles and continues to lead the management committee, and the release says the board and Weinberg agreed he will serve "for at least the next three years". Roger C. Altman, the founder and senior chairman, described the need in terms of capacity: "The firm will benefit from additional management resources to support John, and today’s announcement reflects that need." Weinberg said the two are "accomplished leaders who will make important contributions in these roles". Below them, Daniel Mendelow becomes sole head of U.S. Investment Banking, which the release calls the firm's largest business, Jason Sobol becomes chairman of that unit, and Eduardo Mestre stays chairman of global investment banking.

What the filing leaves unquantified, and the next dated test

The document fixes a target value but not base salary, annual bonus targets or the operating income and total-return hurdle levels that decide the final unit count. It says nothing about Weinberg's own compensation or a firm departure date beyond the three-year commitment, and it carries no results for any period, so there is no revenue or profit figure against which to judge the size of the grants. The first date this filing creates is January 1, 2027, when the titles and reporting lines take effect; the second is the fifth anniversary of that date, when the units cliff-vest. The nearer test is already on the calendar: Evercore is scheduled to report third-quarter 2026 results at 6:45 a.m. Eastern on October 28 and to hold a conference call at 8 a.m., according to the results timing TickerGrove reported on October 18. That call is the first scheduled chance for analysts to ask how the two co-presidents will divide the work and what the awards are meant to keep in place.