Viper Energy, Inc. 8-K

What Happened
Viper Energy, Inc. filed an 8-K on Feb. 19, 2026 reporting that effective February 18, 2026 Will Krueger, previously Vice President ‒ Legal, was promoted to Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Viper. Mr. Krueger remains an employee of Diamondback E&P LLC (a wholly owned subsidiary of Viper’s parent, Diamondback Energy, Inc.) and will continue providing services to Viper under the Services and Secondment Agreement dated November 2, 2023. He will report to Matt Zmigrosky, who is stepping down from his Viper role as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary to facilitate the promotion.

Key Details

• Effective date: February 18, 2026.
• Promoted executive: Will Krueger — from Vice President ‒ Legal to Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary.
• Employment/secondment: Krueger remains an employee of Diamondback E&P LLC and will serve Viper under the Services and Secondment Agreement dated November 2, 2023.
• Transition: Matt Zmigrosky is stepping down from his Viper Executive VP, General Counsel and Secretary role to allow this change.

Why It Matters
This is an internal succession of Viper’s top legal officer and is being handled via existing secondment arrangements with parent-company affiliates, which suggests continuity in legal and administrative support without a direct new hiring by Viper. For investors, the filing indicates a management role change but does not disclose any separate compensation or termination arrangements for Viper; the change appears administrative and aligned with the services agreement with Diamondback.