Governance Committee approves 3% salary increase for Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory deputy director

The Governance Committee approved a 3% market-based salary increase for Michael Brandt, deputy laboratory director for operations and chief operating officer at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, effective March 1, 2026. Executive Vice President Nava introduced the item and stated the increase is funded by Department of Energy dollars.

The committee chair opened the session and asked for a motion to approve the minutes from the Jan. 20 meeting; a motion and second were obtained and the minutes were adopted by roll call. During consideration of the open-session item labeled G1, the chair turned the discussion to Executive Vice President Nava to introduce the compensation proposal.

"It's a 3% increase effective March 1st of 2026," Executive Vice President Nava said, describing the market-based adjustment and Brandt's title at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. When a committee member asked for the funding source, Nava replied, "The funding will be provided by the Department of Energy funds."

A member moved the item and another member seconded. The committee took a roll call vote; Regents Agnew, Cohen, Hernandez, Milliken, Riley, Robinson and Sears each voted "aye." The chair announced that the item was approved. The chair’s announcement referenced the item as "Item G2" in the vote, though it had been introduced as Item G1 earlier in the session.

The open session concluded for a lunch break with plans to reconvene at 1:00 p.m.

Votes at a glance
- Adopt minutes from Jan. 20: approved by roll call (Regent Agnew, Regent Cohen, Regent Hernandez, Regent Milliken, Regent Riley, Regent Robinson, Regent Sears — all "aye").
- Market-based salary adjustment for Michael Brandt (Item G1; announced as "Item G2" at vote): approved by roll call (Regent Agnew, Regent Cohen, Regent Hernandez, Regent Milliken, Regent Riley, Regent Robinson, Regent Sears — all "aye").