Statements made in this proxy statement that are not based on historical facts are forward-looking, may involve risks and uncertainties, and are intended to be as of the date when made. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to our strategic plan, including, without limitation, those related to earnings per share, dividend, operating and maintenance expense and capital investment goals; the outcome of legislative efforts and regulatory and legal proceedings; future energy demand; future power prices; plans with respect to existing and potential future generation resources; the availability and cost of generation resources and energy storage; targeted emissions reductions; and other matters relating to expected financial performance or affecting future operations. Forward-looking statements are often accompanied by forward-looking words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “estimates,” “forecasts,” “should,” “could,” “may,” “seeks,” “intends,” “proposed,” “projects,” “planned,” “target,” “outlook,” “remain confident,” “goal,” “will” or other words of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to, those described in Part I, Item 1.A. of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021. Additional risks and uncertainties are discussed from time to time in current, quarterly and annual reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Evergy, Inc. (NYSE: EVRG), a public utility holding company, engages in the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity to approximately 1.6 million customers in the states of Kansas and Missouri. Our 2021 Annual Report contains additional information about our businesses. This section is a summary, and you should read the entire proxy statement before voting.

On January 4, 2021, Mr. David A. Campbell became Evergy’s President and Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) as part of the Company’s planned management succession. Mr. Campbell joined Evergy following the retirement of Mr. Terry Bassham, Evergy’s former President and Chief Executive Officer, on January 4, 2021.

On February 22, 2021, Mr. Kirkland B. Andrews became Evergy’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Andrews, previously an independent director on the Evergy Board, filled the role previously held by Mr. Anthony D. Somma, Evergy’s former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, who departed on March 4, 2021.

On August 12, 2021, Evergy announced that Mr. Greg A. Greenwood’s role changed to Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer and that he would provide strategic oversight to the Company until his departure in the middle of 2022. Mr. Charles A. Caisley assumed some of the roles previously held by Mr. Greenwood.

Since both Mr. Campbell and Mr. Bassham served as Chief Executive Officer of the Company during 2021, they both appear in this proxy statement as named executive officers (also referred to as “NEOs”). Similarly, because Mr. Andrews and Mr. Somma served as Evergy’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer during 2021, they both appear as NEOs in the proxy statement for 2021.

Accordingly, our named executive officers for 2021 are David A. Campbell, Kirkland B. Andrews, Kevin E. Bryant, Charles A. Caisley, Greg A. Greenwood, Terry Bassham and Anthony D. Somma.

Two of our directors chose not to stand for re-election. One vacancy will be filled, if elected, by Mr. James Scarola, a new director nominee at the 2022 Annual Meeting; whereas the other will not be filled. The size of the Board will be reduced by one to twelve directors following the 2022 Annual Meeting.

Each of our director nominees exhibits practical wisdom, sound judgement, and financial acumen. Based on their diverse experiences, the nominees are fully aligned with the competencies conducive to enhancing shareholder value. Additional information about our director nominees and their competencies can be found under “Proposal I – Election of Directors.”

Evergy’s compensation programs are designed to support achievement of our business strategy without encouraging excessive risk-taking. Our intention is to attract and retain highly qualified executives, pay for performance, and reward long-term growth and sustained profitability. Consistent with these objectives, as shown below, a high percentage of fiscal 2021 total target direct compensation is based on performance. The graphics and table below do not include special inducement and retention awards.

Set forth below is a summary of key fiscal 2021 compensation decisions for our currently serving named executive officers.

The Compensation and Leadership Development Committee believes our executive compensation program features best-in-class governance practices, such as:

We are seeking shareholder approval of our amended and restated Long-Term Incentive Plan (“Amended LTIP”) to extend the term, increase the maximum number of shares of the Company’s common stock available for awards issued under our current Long-Term Incentive Plan (also referred to as “LTIP”), and make other changes described in the section entitled “Proposal 3: Approval of the Evergy, Inc. Amended and Restated Long-Term Incentive Plan.”

The Board approved the Amended LTIP in February 2022 and directed that it be submitted to our shareholders for approval. If approved, the Amended LTIP will be effective as of May 3, 2022, and will expire on May 3, 2032. If not approved, the existing LTIP will continue in its current form.

Recommendation.The Board believes that the LTIP has been successful, and that the Amended LTIP should be approved. Accordingly, the Board recommends that shareholders vote FOR this proposal.

The following summarizes the business experience of each nominee for at least the last five years, and the specific experience, qualifications, attributes and skills that led the Board to conclude that each nominee should serve as a director. The Board believes that the items noted for each nominee demonstrate his or her superior leadership, high performance standards, mature judgment, strategic planning capabilities and ability to understand and oversee the Company’s strategies, operations and management.

The 12 nominees for director have been recommended to the Board by the Nominating, Governance, and Sustainability Committee and nominated by the Board to serve as directors until the next annual meeting of shareholders and until their successors are duly elected and qualified. The nominees include 11 of our current directors and one new director nominee, whom the Board identified and is recommending, in part, to provide nuclear leadership experience to the Board.

Each nominee has consented to stand for election, and the Board does not anticipate that any nominee will be unavailable to serve. In the event that one or more of the director nominees should become unavailable to serve at the time of the annual meeting, shares represented by proxy may be voted for the election of a nominee to be designated by the Board. Alternatively, in lieu of designating a substitute, the Board may reduce the number of directors. Proxies cannot be voted for more than 12 nominees.

The Nominating, Governance, and Sustainability Committee is responsible for identifying potential director nominees and evaluating and recommending director nominees to the Board. The Committee takes into account a number of factors when considering director nominees, as described in our Corporate Governance Guidelines and as discussed in greater detail below. Director nominees identified by shareholders for our consideration will be evaluated in the same way as nominees identified by the Nominating, Governance, and Sustainability Committee.

Shareholders who wish to identify director nominees for consideration by the Nominating, Governance, and Sustainability Committee should write to our Nominating, Governance, and Sustainability Committee at the address provided in “Communicating with the Board” on page 28. Shareholders who wish to nominate a director nominee, including pursuant to our proxy access By-law provisions, may do so by following instructions set forth in “How can I nominate a director or submit a proposal for the 2023 annual meeting?” on page 84.

The Board oversees the shareholders’ interests in the long-term health and success of the Company’s business, and directs, oversees and monitors the performance of management. The Board believes that its effectiveness in carrying out its responsibilities depends not only upon the particular experience, qualifications, attributes and skills that each director possesses, but also upon their ability to function well as a collegial body and to work collaboratively.

The Board’s objective is to have a well-rounded and diverse membership possessing, in the aggregate, skill sets and core competencies that are conducive to long-term success. The Board considers diversity in the broadest sense, reflecting geography, age, gender and ethnicity, as well as other factors. The Board believes that a diverse group of directors is desirable to expand the Board’s collective knowledge and expertise, as well as to evaluate management and positively influence the Company’s performance.

The success of the Company depends not only on expertise-based competencies, but equally on the personal qualities and attributes of the directors, both individually and as a group. Attributes that directors should possess include, among others, practical wisdom and thoughtfulness in decision-making; mature and sound judgment; financial acumen and business experience; the highest level of personal and professional ethics, integrity and values; sufficient time and availability; commitment to representing the interests of shareholders, customers and their communities; critical analysis skills; collegiality, a collaborative and cooperative spirit and the ability to both lead and work within a team environment; and the courage to act constructively and independently. Non-management directors should also be able to meet the independence requirements of the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) listing standards and our Corporate Governance Guidelines.

The Board concluded that the following competencies are conducive to sustainable long-term shareholder and customer value: strategy development; federal and state regulation and compliance; alignment of company culture and compensation and leadership development; accounting, finance and investment management; risk management; operational oversight; customer experience; community and political relations; and environmental, social and governance, which was added as a standalone core competency in 2021 in recognition of the importance of ESG matters to our stakeholders. Each director nominee provided a self-evaluation against these core competencies, and the Board evaluated the contribution level of each director nominee, using the categories of “experienced,” “moderate experience,” “minimal experience” and “no experience.”

Board Leadership Structure. We have separated the roles of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, with Mr. Mark A. Ruelle serving as our Chair and Mr. David A. Campbell serving as our Chief Executive Officer. The Board believes that this structure is an appropriate corporate governance structure for the Company. However, the Board believes it is important to maintain flexibility to combine the roles in the future if it determines that a different Board structure would be in the long-term interests of our shareholders.

The Chair is responsible for presiding over all Board meetings and all executive sessions of the Board that include only non-management directors. The Chair may also call special meetings of the Board or shareholders, and presides over Evergy’s shareholder meetings.

The Chair approves Board meeting agendas, which are prepared by the Chief Executive Officer reflecting input, if any, of the Chair and Lead Independent Director. The Chief Executive Officer and Chair also discuss the quality, quantity and timeliness of the flow of information from management.

The Chair also serves as the principal liaison between management, acting through or in consultation with the Chief Executive Officer, and the Board. He is also responsible for soliciting information from the non-management members of the Board regarding the performance of the Chief Executive Officer.

The Chair is also available for discussion with individual directors regarding key issues, individual director performance or any other matters relating to effectiveness of the Board. He may also interface from time to time with the public, including shareholders.

Working with the Nominating, Governance, and Sustainability Committee, the Lead Independent Director and the Chief Executive Officer, the Chair is also responsible for interviewing all potential new candidates and recommending new candidates for the Board. Among these other duties, the Chair is also responsible for helping to set the tone for ethics and integrity at Evergy.

The Lead Independent Director is responsible for developing agendas for executive sessions of independent directors and calling and presiding over the same. He also serves as a liaison between the Chair and the independent directors, reviews meeting agendas and reviews meeting schedules.

The Board appointed Mr. Thomas D. Hyde to serve as Lead Independent Director to ensure that Evergy’s independent directors are represented and have formal mechanisms in place to exercise their governance role.

Independent Board. The Board has determined that 10 of the 12 nominees are independent.

Executive Sessions. Time is reserved on each Board meeting agenda for all directors to meet in executive session, with no members of management (other than the Chief Executive Officer) present. Time is also reserved on each Board meeting agenda for the non-management directors to meet in executive session, presided over by our Chair, and for the independent directors to meet in executive session, presided over by the Lead Independent Director, in each case with no members of management present. Time is also reserved at each regular committee meeting for committee members to meet in executive session with no members of management present.

Board Meetings and Director Attendance. The Board held seven meetings in 2021. Each incumbent director nominee attended 100% of the aggregate number of meetings of the Board and committees on which he or she served.

Board Committees. We have a robust committee structure, with six standing committees.

Each committee is led by an independent director. In addition, four of the standing committees, including the committees required by NYSE standards, consist solely of independent directors.

Each standing committee is governed by a committee charter that enumerates the committee’s responsibilities. Each charter is reviewed at least annually and is available on the Company’s investor relations website at investors.evergy.com.

The Board has determined that each member of the committee is (i) independent under the NYSE listing standards and Rule 10A-3(b)(1) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“Exchange Act”); (ii)  financially literate under the NYSE listing standards; and (iii) an “audit committee financial expert” within the meaning of SEC regulations. No member of the committee serves on the audit committee of more than three public companies.

The Board has determined that each member of the committee is independent under the NYSE listing standards, including the enhanced independence standards for members of the compensation committee and a “non-employee director” as defined in Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act. Ms. Carter is not standing for re-election at the 2022 Annual Meeting and the Board will appoint a successor chair concurrent with Ms. Carter’s departure.

The Board has determined that each member of the committee is independent under the NYSE listing standards.

The Board has determined that each member of the committee, other than Mr. Campbell, is independent under the NYSE listing standards. The Board determined that having Mr. Campbell on the committee is proper and beneficial due to his extensive financial experience.

The Board has determined that each member of the committee, other than Mr. Ruelle, is independent under the NYSE listing standards. The Board determined that having Mr. Ruelle on the committee is proper and beneficial due to his extensive operational experience, including with respect to Wolf Creek. Mr. Stall is not standing for re-election at the 2022 Annual Meeting and the Board will appoint a successor chair concurrent with Mr. Stall’s departure.

The Board has determined that each member of the committee is independent under the NYSE listing standards.

We are committed to strong corporate governance practices that support the regulated nature of our business and the long-term interests of our shareholders.

Corporate Governance Guidelines. The Board has adopted a set of Corporate Governance Guidelines to provide a framework for our corporate governance initiatives. Our guidelines address, among other things, Board responsibilities and leadership, risk oversight, committee composition and director qualifications. The Nominating, Governance, and Sustainability Committee is responsible for overseeing and reviewing the Corporate Governance Guidelines and for recommending any changes to the guidelines to the Board.

Code of Ethics. Our Board has adopted a Code of Ethics to set the tone for our expectation that all directors, officers and employees act in an ethical and lawful manner. We also expect all parties who work on Evergy’s behalf to embrace the spirit of the Code of Ethics. Other parts of our process to ensure lawful and ethical business conduct include policies and procedures, compliance monitoring and reporting and periodic training on various areas of the law and corporate policies. We have also established a “ConcernsLine,” which is independently administered and is available 24 hours a day, every day, for the confidential and anonymous reporting of concerns and complaints.

Our Corporate Governance Guidelines and the Code of Ethics are available on the Company’s investor relations website at investors.evergy.com. These documents are also available in print to any shareholder upon request. Requests should be directed to Corporate Secretary, Evergy, Inc., 1200 Main Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64105. We will disclose any change in the Code of Ethics, or any waiver from a provision in the Code of Ethics granted to a director or an executive officer, by posting such information on our investor relations website.

Annual Election of Directors. Our directors are elected on an annual basis and serve until their respective successors have been duly elected and qualified.

Majority Voting Policy. Pursuant to our majority voting policy, each director nominee is required to tender in advance of the annual meeting an irrevocable letter of resignation that will take effect if that nominee fails to receive, in an uncontested election, the vote of a majority of votes cast by shareholders at the meeting. In the event that any nominee fails to obtain the required majority vote, the Board will decide, through a process managed by the Nominating, Governance, and Sustainability Committee and excluding the nominee in question, whether to accept the resignation. Absent a compelling reason for the director to remain on the Board, the Board shall accept the resignation.

Proxy Access. Subject to the requirements and limitations contained in our By-laws, an eligible shareholder, or a group of up to 20 eligible shareholders, can have nominees included in future proxy statements. In general, the shareholders must have continuously owned at least 3% of Evergy’s outstanding shares for at least three years as of the date that the shareholder(s) notify Evergy of the intent to utilize proxy access. The eligible shareholders may use proxy access to nominate up to 25% of the total number of directors who are members of the Board as of the date that the shareholder(s) notify Evergy of the intent to utilize proxy access.

Shareholder Right to Call Special Meeting. Subject to the requirements and limitations contained in our By-laws, an eligible shareholder, or a group of eligible shareholders, that own 15% or more of Evergy’s outstanding common stock in net long form can call a special meeting of shareholders.

Annual Self-Assessments. The Board and each committee conduct annual self-assessments to determine whether the Board and the committees are functioning effectively. The self-assessment process is based on written Board and committee surveys that are completed by all Board members. The self-assessment topics generally include, among other matters, Board composition and Board and committee structure, meeting topics and process, quality and timeliness of information, diversity, risk management, succession planning and access to management. The Chair of the Nominating, Governance, and Sustainability Committee meets with each director to discuss the survey, and the process allows Board members to provide input on individual Board member effectiveness. Each director can also request to meet with the Chair or Lead Independent Director, and the Chair of the Nominating, Governance, and Sustainability Committee, Chair or Lead Independent Director will provide any applicable feedback to an individual director. In 2021, as part of ongoing Board refreshment activities, the Chair additionally met with each director to solicit feedback on Board and committee composition, among other things. Each Board committee discusses the results of its self-assessment and the Board discusses the results of the self-assessment process. As appropriate, the Board oversees the implementation of enhancements and other modifications identified during the process.

Board Oversight of Risk Management. The Board is responsible for the oversight of all major risks (as well as mitigation plans), including strategic, financial, operational and compliance risks. In an effort to ensure appropriate and

in-depth oversight of risk, the Board has delegated some specific risk oversight responsibility to its committees, as summarized below and as described in those committees’ charters. The Nominating, Governance, and Sustainability Committee is charged with ensuring that risk oversight roles have been properly allocated, and the Audit Committee reviews Evergy’s enterprise risk management policies and framework. Management is responsible for developing and implementing appropriate risk management practices on a day-to-day basis.

At least once each year, the full Board receives a report from management of key business and compliance risks and related mitigation plans. The full Board also receives updates on significant events and the status of, and changes in, the risks and mitigation plans. In addition, management makes regular presentations to the Board focusing on significant risk areas and corresponding mitigation plans and activities.

Board Attendance at Annual Meeting. Our Corporate Governance Guidelines provide that all directors are encouraged to attend annual meetings of shareholders. All incumbent directors attended the 2021 annual meeting of shareholders.

Mandatory Retirement / Tenure Policy. All directors serving on the Board as of June 4, 2018 have a mandatory retirement age of 75, meaning that any such director is not eligible to stand for election or re-election at the annual meeting of shareholders following his or her 75^th birthday. Any director appointed after June 4, 2018 will not be able to stand for election or re-election at the annual meeting of shareholders following the earlier of (i) his or her 72^nd birthday or (ii) 16 years of service. In addition, any director who experiences a significant change in primary employment since election to the Board will offer to resign, which offer will be evaluated by the Board in light of the individual circumstances.

Stock Ownership Requirements. Our Corporate Governance Guidelines provide that non-employee directors are expected, within five years of their initial election to the Board, to acquire and hold Evergy stock with a value equal to at least five times the amount of the annual non-employee director cash retainer. Our CEO is required to hold Evergy stock with a value equal to six times the amount of his or her base salary. All director nominees are in compliance with the policy, except Mr. Scarola who is not yet a director.

No Hedging / Pledging. Our securities trading policy, which was adopted by the Board and is overseen by our Nominating, Governance, and Sustainability Committee, prohibits all employees, officers and directors from trading in options, warrants and puts and calls related to Evergy. Our policy also prohibits all employees, officers and directors from purchasing financial instruments (including prepaid variable forward contracts, equity swaps, collars, and exchange funds), or otherwise engaging in transactions that hedge or offset, or are designed to hedge or offset, any decrease in the market value of Evergy securities. The policy also prohibits all employees, officers and directors from holding Evergy securities in a margin account or pledging Evergy securities as collateral.

Oversight and Disclosure of Political Contributions. Our Nominating, Governance, and Sustainability Committee reviews and approves the annual political contribution budget, and reviews reports on political expenditures. Our investor relations website, investors.evergy.com, also contains a copy of our policy with respect to political contributions and information regarding certain political expenditures.

Human Rights Policy. The Board adopted a formal human rights policy which is available on our investor relations website, investors.evergy.com.

Emissions Reductions and Environmental Leadership. Evergy is committed to a long-term strategy to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in a cost-effective and reliable manner. In 2021, Evergy achieved a reduction of CO₂ emissions by 46% from 2005 levels and reductions in sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions by 98% and 88%, respectively, relative to 2005 levels. Evergy has a long-term target to achieve net-zero CO₂ emissions by 2045 with an interim goal of a 70% reduction of CO₂ emissions from 2005 levels by 2030. The trajectory and timing of reaching these goals could be impacted by many external factors, including enabling technology developments, the reliability of the power grid, availability of transmission capacity, and supportive energy policies and regulations, and other factors. In 2022, Evergy added an environmental metric to the LTIP based on total megawatts of owned renewables additions by year-end 2024 or buy-ins of firm power purchase agreements (“PPA”).

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Evergy strives to maintain a diverse, inclusive and equitable people first culture that empowers a stronger future together. Beyond creating an inclusive culture within our company, Evergy strives to be nationally recognized as a leader in the realm of supplier diversity. By increasing opportunities for diverse suppliers and enhancing the competitiveness of the supply chain, we promote economic value for our customers, shareholders and the communities we serve. Our supplier diversity initiatives benefit both underrepresented businesses and the communities in which they are located through job creation, increased wages, and tax revenue. Evergy’s active supplier diversity program has been in place for more than 30 years and involved $229 million of diverse supplier spending in 2021. To further promote and reinforce our commitment to DE&I, we added a discretionary DE&I modifier to our AIP in 2021.

Evergy’s 2021 Master Credit Facility with Non-Emission and Diversity Metrics. In 2021, Evergy amended and restated its $2.5 billion master credit facility, with certain pricing based on diversity and non-emitting carbon generation goals. The applicable interest rates and commitment fees for the facility are subject to upward or downward adjustments, within certain limitations, if Evergy achieves, or fails to achieve, certain sustainability-linked targets based on two key performance indicator metrics: (i) Non-Emitting Generation Capacity and (ii) Diverse Supplier Spend (both as defined in the facility).

Information Security. Evergy’s cybersecurity and information technology risk mitigation program is based on a comprehensive set of laws and rules issued by multiple government agencies concerning cybersecurity and safeguarding Evergy’s operating information, proprietary business information and personal information belonging to customers and employees. Evergy is subject to recurring, independent, third-party audits with respect to adherence to these laws and rules.

Evergy’s cybersecurity program utilizes a multi-layered framework and is designed to align with the Cybersecurity Framework promulgated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) within the United States Department of Commerce and the United States Department of Energy Cyber Capability Maturity Model (C2M2) standard. Evergy also maintains information security risk insurance coverage. Evergy’s cybersecurity team regularly coordinates with industry peers, industry trade organizations, and multiple state and federal governmental agencies, including the United States Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigations within the United States Department of Justice.

All Evergy employees complete an annual information security awareness training that addresses information technology, cybersecurity, privacy, and other matters, and Evergy provides frequent awareness opportunities to employees by conducting controlled phishing campaigns and periodically providing other educational opportunities. Evergy’s management team is responsible for the design and implementation of this program, subject to oversight of the Board and its committees. Evergy’s Safety and Power Delivery Committee assists the Board with respect to, among other things, oversight of cybersecurity risks and other aspects of Evergy’s information technology function. In 2021, the Board and its committees received five presentations that were specific to information technology and cybersecurity matters, and information technology and cybersecurity matters are incorporated into other presentations if those topics are relevant to the presentation. Information technology and cybersecurity matters are also regularly assessed in connection with the Board’s oversight of Evergy’s operations. At least once each year, the full Board receives a report from management of key business and compliance risks and related mitigation plans, and management reviews cybersecurity matters with the Board in connection with this report. Evergy’s Audit Committee also receives reports from the Company’s audit services department regarding the results of reviews of cybersecurity matters and information security governance.

Human Capital Resource Management. The Company is committed to effective human capital resource management. Please refer to our 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K in Part I – Item 1 – Business – “Human Capital Resources” for additional information about this topic.

Our Corporate Governance Guidelines require that a majority of our directors be independent, as determined in accordance with the NYSE listing standards, as well as other independence standards that the Board may adopt. The NYSE listing standards provide that no director can qualify as independent unless the Board affirmatively determines that the director has no material relationship with the listed company. The Board has adopted director qualification standards that are contained in our Corporate Governance Guidelines to assist in making director independence determinations. Our Corporate Governance Guidelines are available on our investor relations website, investors.evergy.com. Our director qualification standards are consistent with the NYSE objective independence standards.

The Nominating, Governance, and Sustainability Committee reviewed the applicable legal standards for Board and committee member independence and the director qualification standards. The Nominating, Governance, and Sustainability Committee also reviewed an analysis of the information provided by each director in an annual questionnaire and a report of transactions between Evergy and director-affiliated entities. The Nominating, Governance, and Sustainability Committee reported its independence determination recommendations to the full Board, and the Board made its independence determinations based on the Nominating, Governance, and Sustainability Committee’s report and the supporting information. In making its independence determinations, the Board considered ordinary course commercial, charitable and other transactions, none of which were material or affected the independence of a director nominee.

In evaluating independence, the Board considered that Ms. Price is a director of US Infrastructure Company, a privately-held company that provides underground utility locating services, which the Company uses for services in the ordinary course of its business. Considering all the facts and circumstances, including that these arrangements were made on an arms-length basis and Ms. Price was not involved in, and did not have a material interest in, the dealings with Evergy, the Board determined that the transactions did not affect her independence.

The Board also considered the terms of the 2021 issuance of equity and warrants to an affiliate of Bluescape Energy Partners, LLC, of which Mr. John Wilder is the Executive Chairman. The Board concluded that the issuance of equity and warrants aligns Mr. Wilder’s interests with Evergy shareholder interests, and that Mr. Wilder is independent.

Some of our directors serve as trustees or directors of non-profit and community organizations on which other directors or officers also serve or to which we donate money. In each case, payments by us or our predecessor companies were less than the greater of $1 million or 2% of the entity’s consolidated gross revenue.

Based on this review, the Board affirmatively determined that all directors (including nominees for directors at the annual meeting of shareholders) are independent under the NYSE listing standards and the director qualification standards, except for Mr. Ruelle and Mr. Campbell, due to the former and current position of each as the Chief Executive Officer of Westar Energy and Evergy, respectively.

The Board has adopted a written policy governing the identification, review, approval and consideration of related party transactions. The policy applies to any transaction in which Evergy (including any of its subsidiaries) was, is or will be a participant, the amount involved exceeds $120,000 in the aggregate, and any related party had, has or will have a direct or indirect material interest, but excludes any transaction that meets the preapproval thresholds set forth in our related party transaction policy. Pursuant to this policy, related party transactions are to be submitted to the Nominating, Governance, and Sustainability Committee for consideration at the next committee meeting or, if it is not practicable or desirable for the Company to wait until the next committee meeting, to the committee Chair. The Chair reports to the committee at its next meeting any approval under the related party transactions policy pursuant to delegated authority. There were no related party transactions in 2021.

None of the members of our Compensation and Leadership Development Committee is or was an officer or employee of Evergy or its subsidiaries. None of our executive officers served as a director or was a member of the compensation committee (or equivalent body) of any entity where a member of our Board or Compensation and Leadership Development Committee was also an executive officer.

To Evergy’s knowledge, no executive officer, director or 10% beneficial owner failed to file, on a timely basis, the reports required by Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, except that a Form 4 with respect to the purchase of 400 shares of Evergy common stock on June 4, 2021 by Mr. Hyde’s broker on Mr. Hyde’s behalf, but without his knowledge and contrary to the instructions he provided to the broker not to trade in Evergy securities, was late. The transaction was ultimately reported on a Form 4 dated December 3, 2021.

The Audit Committee has established procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints or concerns regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or auditing matters affecting Evergy. Complaints or concerns may be submitted on a confidential and anonymous basis either through the “ConcernsLine” (1-866-266-7595) or by letter addressed to:

All complaints or concerns will be forwarded to the Chair of the Audit Committee. Confidentiality will be maintained to the fullest extent practicable, consistent with the need to conduct an adequate investigation and applicable legal requirements.

The Board values input from shareholders and the many constituents that are impacted by Evergy’s activities. Communications relating to corporate governance, succession planning, executive compensation and general oversight of the Board can be sent to:

Communications can also be sent by e-mail to board@evergy.com. All relevant communications will be forwarded to the Chair of the Nominating, Governance, and Sustainability Committee to be handled on behalf of the Board. The Board believes that communications relating to general business operations, financial results, strategic direction and similar matters are appropriately addressed by management, and relevant communications that relate to these topics will be shared with appropriate members of management.

Our Nominating, Governance, and Sustainability Committee, which is comprised entirely of independent directors, is responsible for reviewing and approving compensation for our non-employee directors. The committee seeks to provide an overall non-employee director compensation program that is generally aligned with the 50^th percentile of our peer group (which is the same peer group that is used for benchmarking executive compensation). However, due to the variation in peer company non-employee director compensation, and the fact that director compensation is not changed each year, in any given year overall non-employee director compensation may be above, at or below the market median. The committee reviews non-employee director compensation at our peer companies and relies in part on the advice of an independent compensation consultant.

The Nominating, Governance, and Sustainability Committee, based in part on a review of compensation practices at our peer companies and the advice of an independent compensation consultant, Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC (“Meridian”), approved an updated compensation structure for non-employee directors in 2021. The non-employee director cash retainer compensation increased effective July 1, 2021, as reflected in the table below. While the non-employee director equity retainer did not increase in 2021, the Nominating, Governance and Sustainability Committee elected to increase the retainer in 2022 and realigned payment of the equity retainer with the annual shareholder meeting as reflected in the table below. For the amounts each director received in 2021, please refer to the table in section “2021 Non-Employee Director Compensation” below.

The following table outlines all compensation paid to our non-employee directors in 2021. We have omitted the columns titled “Option Awards” and “Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation” because our non-employee directors did not receive such compensation in 2021. Please refer to the table in section “Non-Employee Director Compensation” above for a description of changes to non-employee director cash retainer compensation made effective as of July 1, 2021.

Non-employee directors may defer the receipt of all or part of their cash retainers through our non-qualified deferred compensation plan (“DCP”) or all or part of the equity retainer through issuance of DSUs under the LTIP.

Non-employee directors may also elect to have all, or a part, of their cash retainers converted into DSUs under the LTIP.

As of the date any dividend is paid to common stock shareholders, each DSU account is credited with additional DSUs equal to the number of shares of common stock that could have been purchased (at the closing price of our common stock on that date) with the amount which would have been paid as dividends on the number of shares equal to the number of DSUs.

Members of the Board will also receive standard reimbursements for expenses incurred in connection with meeting attendance and professional education.

We also match contributions to 501(c)(3) organizations that meet our strategic giving priorities, subject to certain parameters.

Consistent with our peer group and other public companies, we provide liability insurance to our directors under our directors and officers insurance policies. We have also entered into standard indemnification agreements with each of our directors.

Our Corporate Governance Guidelines provide that non-employee directors are expected, within five years of their initial election to the Board, to acquire and hold Evergy stock with a value equal to at least five times the amount of the annual non-employee director cash retainer. As for December 31, 2021, all of our non-employee directors are in compliance with this requirement.

Public companies are required to provide their shareholders with the opportunity to approve, on an advisory and non-binding basis, the compensation of their named executive officers. In 2021, approximately 96% of our voting shareholders approved the compensation of our named executive officers. We believe this strong shareholder support demonstrates the alignment of shareholder interests with our executive compensation program and philosophy.

The Board believes that providing shareholders with an annual advisory vote on executive compensation can produce useful and timely information on investors’ views of the Company’s executive compensation program. Although the vote is advisory and non-binding, we value the opinions of our shareholders and the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee will consider this vote when making future compensation decisions.

As discussed below, our executive compensation program is designed to support achievement of our business strategy without encouraging excessive risk-taking, to attract and retain highly qualified executives, pay for performance, reward long-term growth and sustained profitability and encourage teamwork. The Board strongly endorses our executive compensation program and recommends that our shareholders vote in favor of the following resolution:

We currently intend to hold the next non-binding advisory vote to approve the compensation of our named executive officers at our next annual meeting of shareholders, unless our Board modifies its current policy of holding this vote on an annual basis.

The Compensation Discussion and Analysis (“CD&A”) that follows provides a comprehensive explanation of the compensation awarded to, earned by, or paid to the following individuals listed below, who are our named executive officers for 2021:

For more information regarding these recent executive leadership changes, see “Management Succession” below. References to the “Committee” in the CD&A and related sections mean the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee of the Board.

The Company made progress in advancing priority initiatives in its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, and advanced the core elements of the strategic business plan; therefore modifiers were set at target.

Our weighted achievement for 2021 was 119.0% of target. Based on this performance, the following performance cash awards were paid to our currently serving NEOs. Neither Mr. Basham nor Mr. Somma was eligible to receive a 2021 short term incentive award. See “Note Regarding Transitions – Former CEO and CFO Transition” on page 37.