Gaming & Lodging

DENNY'S Executive Compensation (FY24)

Name: DENNY'S (DENN) executive compensation
Creator: Velarion
License: https://intel.velarion.ai/terms

DENN · Executive and director compensation, fiscal 2022 to 2024

Chief executive, fiscal 2024

◇

Kelli Valade

Latest say-on-pay support

May 14, 2025

Chief executive pay ratio

◇

To the median employee

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Data as of November 4, 2026Latest filing (8-K): May 16, 2025

12 filings cited on this page

Method: intel.velarion.ai/methodology

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215 figures on this page: 205 cited to the filing that reported them, 10 calculated from figures it prints. See the citations

Frequently asked questions

Answers drawn from the data on this page.

Who is DENNY'S' chief executive and what were they paid?

Total compensation for Kelli Valade, Chief Executive Officer, came to $5,257,477 in fiscal 2024. Valade's total was 2.0% lower than the $5,363,088 reported for fiscal 2023.

What was DENNY'S' say-on-pay result?

Shareholders supported the say-on-pay proposal with 94.7% of votes cast for or against in favor at the meeting held May 14, 2025 for fiscal 2024.

Which companies are in DENNY'S' peer group?

The disclosed peer group includes BJ's Restaurants, Inc., Bloomin' Brands, Inc., Brinker International, Inc., Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. and Dine Brands Global, Inc., among others.

What is DENNY'S' chief executive pay ratio?

The disclosed chief executive pay ratio for fiscal 2024 is 197:1, against median employee compensation of $26,746.

Executive compensation

Every element reported for each named executive officer, by fiscal year.

Fiscal 2022

Officer	Salary	Bonus	Stock awards	Option awards	Non-equity incentive	Pension and deferred earnings	All other compensation	Total
Kelli Valade Chief Executive Officer	◇	◇	◇	—	◇	—	◇	◇
Robert Verostek Executive Vice President and	◇	—	◇	—	◇	—	◇	◇
Christopher Bode President and Chief Operating Officer,	◇	—	◇	—	◇	—	◇	◇
Gail Myers Executive Vice President, Chief Legal &	◇	—	◇	—	◇	—	◇	◇

Fiscal 2023

Officer	Salary	Bonus	Stock awards	Option awards	Non-equity incentive	Pension and deferred earnings	All other compensation	Total
Kelli Valade Chief Executive Officer	◇	—	◇	—	◇	—	◇	◇
Robert Verostek Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer	◇	—	◇	—	◇	—	◇	◇
Gail Sharps Myers Executive Vice President, Chief Legal & Administrative Officer and Corporate Secretary	◇	—	◇	—	◇	—	◇	◇
John Dillon Former President, Denny's, Inc. Departed during or after this year	◇	—	◇	—	—	—	◇	◇
Michael Furlow Former Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer Departed during or after this year	◇	◇	◇	—	◇	—	◇	◇
Stephen Dunn Executive Vice President and Chief Global Development Officer	◇	—	◇	—	◇	—	◇	◇
Christopher Bode President and	—	—	—	—	—	—	◇	◇

Fiscal 2024

Officer	Salary	Bonus	Stock awards	Option awards	Non-equity incentive	Pension and deferred earnings	All other compensation	Total
Kelli Valade Chief Executive Officer	◇	—	◇	—	◇	—	◇	◇
Robert Verostek Executive Vice President and	◇	—	◇	—	◇	—	◇	◇
Gail Myers Executive Vice President, Chief Legal &	◇	—	◇	—	◇	—	◇	◇
David Schmidt President, Keke’s, Inc.	◇	—	◇	—	—	—	◇	◇
Christopher Bode President and Chief Operating Officer,	◇	◇	◇	—	◇	—	◇	◇

A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero. A negative change in pension value is shown but, as the company reports it, not included in the total.

Equity awards granted

Individual awards as disclosed: type, date, unit counts at each level, and grant date value.

Fiscal 2024

Officer	Award	Grant date	Threshold units	Target units	Units granted	Maximum units	Exercise price	Grant date fair value
Christopher D. Bode	RSU	◇	—	—	◇	—	—	◇
David P. Schmidt	PSU	◇	◇	◇	—	◇	—	◇
David P. Schmidt	RSU	◇	—	—	◇	—	—	◇
Gail Sharps Myers	PSU	◇	◇	◇	—	◇	—	◇
Gail Sharps Myers	RSU	◇	—	—	◇	—	—	◇
Kelli F. Valade	RSU	◇	—	—	◇	—	—	◇
Kelli F. Valade	PSU	◇	◇	◇	—	◇	—	◇
Robert P. Verostek	RSU	◇	—	—	◇	—	—	◇
Robert P. Verostek	PSU	◇	◇	◇	—	◇	—	◇

Fiscal 2023 are included in the PDF.

A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero. Threshold, target and maximum apply only to performance awards and are never shown for time-based or option awards.

Outstanding awards

Awards still held at fiscal year end.

As disclosed at fiscal 2024 year end

Officer	Award	Unvested units	Market value of unvested units	Exercise price	Expires
Kelli Valade	PSU	◇	◇	—	—
	PSU	◇	◇	—	—
	RSU	◇	◇	—	—
	RSU	◇	◇	—	—
Robert Verostek	PSU	◇	◇	—	—
	PSU	◇	◇	—	—
	RSU	◇	◇	—	—
	RSU	◇	◇	—	—
Gail Sharps Myers	PSU	◇	◇	—	—
	PSU	◇	◇	—	—
	RSU	◇	◇	—	—
	RSU	◇	◇	—	—

A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero.

Director compensation

What each non-employee director was paid.

Fiscal 2024

Director	Fees earned in cash	Stock awards	Option awards	Non-equity incentive	Pension and deferred earnings	All other compensation	Total
Brenda J. Lauderback Board chair	◇	◇	—	—	—	—	◇
José M. Gutiérrez	◇	◇	—	—	—	—	◇
Gregg R. Dedrick	◇	◇	—	—	—	—	◇
Bernadette S. Aulestia	◇	◇	—	—	—	—	◇
Laysha Ward	◇	◇	—	—	—	—	◇
Olu Beck	◇	◇	—	—	—	—	◇
John C. Miller	◇	◇	—	—	—	—	◇
Mark R. Vondrasek	◇	◇	—	—	—	—	◇

Kelli F. Valade served on the board in fiscal 2024 and received no compensation for board service. Executive directors are typically paid through their executive roles, shown above.

Earlier years are included in the PDF.

A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero.

Director fee schedule

The standing retainers and premiums the board pays, as published.

Board cash retainer	◇
Board equity retainer	◇
Total board retainer	◇
Board chair premium	◇
Audit committee chair	◇
Audit committee member	◇
Compensation committee chair	◇
Compensation committee member	◇
Nominating and governance chair	◇
Nominating and governance member	◇
Board meeting fee	◇

Equity is delivered as deferred stock units.

Disclosed peer group

The companies this board named as its compensation comparison group. The list is disclosure; the comparison is analysis.

Fiscal 2024

BJ's Restaurants, Inc. BJRI
Bloomin' Brands, Inc. BLMN
Brinker International, Inc. EAT
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. CBRL
Dine Brands Global, Inc. DIN
El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. LOCO
Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc. FRGI
Jack in the Box, Inc. JACK
Noodles & Company NDLS
Potbelly Corporation PBPB
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. RRGB
Shake Shack Inc. SHAK
Texas Roadhouse, Inc. TXRH
The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated CAKE
Wingstop Inc. WING

Say-on-pay history

Shareholder support for the compensation program, by year.

Year	Meeting	Support	Votes for	Votes against	Abstentions
2024	May 14, 2025	=	◇	◇	◇
2023	May 15, 2024	=	◇	◇	◇
2022	May 17, 2023	=	◇	◇	◇
2021	May 18, 2022	=	◇	◇	◇
2020	May 19, 2021	=	◇	◇	◇
2019	May 20, 2020	=	◇	◇	◇
2018	May 8, 2019	=	◇	◇	◇
2017	May 9, 2018	=	◇	◇	◇
2016	May 10, 2017	=	◇	◇	◇
2015	May 23, 2016	=	◇	◇	◇

Chief executive pay ratio

As calculated and reported by the company.

Ratio

◇

Median employee compensation

◇

Chief executive total compensation

◇

Ask our research desk — $99, 24h, every figure cited to its filing.

Sample answer — “What is the CEO’s total compensation?”

- Kelli Valade (Chief Executive Officer), FY2024 total compensation $5,257,477 (base salary $938,308) [exec_comp, SEC accession 0001193125-25-071810, filed 2025-04-03]

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What this page does not include

Everything above is a fact DENNY'S disclosed, and it is free. Everything below is our analysis of those facts, and it is not.

Peer benchmarking

Where DENNY'S sits against its disclosed peers — percentile position by role and by pay element, and the ranking behind it. The disclosed peer group is free; comparisons across it are part of the Velarion platform.

Executive Compensation Report — $500

Written compensation analysis

A read of the pay program as designed and as paid: incentive structure, goal rigor, the alignment between the committee's stated philosophy and what the numbers show.

Executive Compensation Report — $500

Board and governance analysis

Committee composition, independence, director pay positioning, and the governance provisions read together rather than listed.

Board Governance Report — $500

Realizable pay

What the awards above are actually worth today against what they were valued at on grant, and what the gap says about the pay-for-performance link.

Velarion Intelligence

Adviser switching and vote outcomes

Two datasets covering compensation-adviser changes and what followed a contested vote. Both are part of the Velarion platform.

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Multiple companies at once

Cross-company views, cohort screens, and data export across the industries we cover. This page is one company; the platform is all of them.

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Citations

Every figure on this page is cited to the document that reported it. Select any figure to see its citation.

215 figures on this page: 205 cited to the filing that reported them, 10 calculated from figures it prints.

205 cited to the filing

10 calculated from the filing

Documents cited

8-K, filed May 16, 2025
0000852772-25-000087
Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
DEF 14A, filed April 3, 2025
0001193125-25-071810
B. 2024 Summary Compensation Table · C. 2024 Grants of Plan-Based Awards · D. 2024 Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End · F. Director Compensation · and 1 more section
8-K, filed May 17, 2024
0000852772-24-000049
Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
8-K, filed May 19, 2023
0000852772-23-000061
Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
8-K, filed May 20, 2022
0000852772-22-000056
Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
8-K, filed May 21, 2021
0000852772-21-000059
Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
8-K, filed May 27, 2020
0000852772-20-000102
Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
8-K, filed May 13, 2019
0000852772-19-000062
Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
8-K, filed May 11, 2018
0000852772-18-000069
Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
8-K, filed May 11, 2017
0000852772-17-000056
Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
8-K, filed May 26, 2016
0000852772-16-000135
Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
DEF 14A
0001193125-24-086559
2023 Summary Compensation Table

Cite this data

This page is free to cite. Attribution we ask for:

Velarion, “DENNY'S executive compensation, FY2022–FY2024.” https://intel.velarion.ai/comp/DENN (accessed 2026).

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The paid brief for DENNY'S

Positioning against its disclosed peers, the governance read, incentive design, and the CD&A alignment analysis; the full peer table; a committee-ready PDF.

$500 for the Executive Compensation Report. Both reports for $900.

Get the executive brief Get the board briefNo account needed.

12 filings cited on this page

Method: intel.velarion.ai/methodology

A report that fails to generate is refunded in full

Published by Velarion Company Intelligence

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Gaming & Lodging rankings

Chief executive pay — Gaming & Lodging CEO pay ratio — Gaming & Lodging Say-on-pay support — Gaming & Lodging

Peers DENNY'S discloses

The companies named in DENN's own disclosed peer group.

BJ's Restaurants, Inc.Bloomin' Brands, Inc.Brinker International, Inc.Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.Dine Brands Global, Inc.El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.Jack in the Box, Inc.Noodles & Company Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc.Shake Shack Inc.Texas Roadhouse, Inc.The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated Wingstop Inc.

Terms on this page

Say-on-Pay Vote CEO Pay Ratio Median Employee Compensation All companies

Free to read and cite. Redistribution or bulk use of the dataset requires a data license. Talk to us about the data license.

Cite this data

APA

Velarion Company Intelligence. (2026). Velarion database: executive and board compensation data (Version 2026Q3) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22283854

BibTeX

@misc{velarionData2026,
  author = {{Velarion Company Intelligence}},
  title = {Velarion database: executive and board compensation data},
  year = {2026},
  version = {2026Q3},
  doi = {10.5281/zenodo.22283854},
  publisher = {Zenodo},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22283854}
}

More on DENNY'S

Frequently asked questions

Executive compensation

Equity awards granted

Outstanding awards

Director compensation

Director fee schedule

Disclosed peer group

Say-on-pay history

Chief executive pay ratio

What this page does not include

Citations

Documents cited

The paid brief for DENNY'S

Gaming & Lodging rankings

Peers DENNY'S discloses

Terms on this page