VEA Vice Chair Nell Minow is quoted in this article about the way compensation committees are altering incentive pay benchmarks to shovel more money into the bank accounts of CEOs.
Nell Minow, vice chair of ValueEdge Advisors, which guides shareholders on how to use their rights to preserve portfolio value and diminish risk — including risk posed by excessive CEO pay – said, “Everyone agrees that if a company makes a lot of money, the CEO should make a lot of money. But if it was a tough year, they are supposed to feel the consequences. And if they steered the company through, then that will pay off for them later.” As in now, when business is improving.
It was the worst of times (for the world). It was still a pretty good time (for CEO pay).
Ten top media and entertainment CEOs earned a combined $350 million last year, buoyed by hefty stock and option grants during the worst economic disruption since the Great Depression.
Members of compensation committees on boards, who set pay, explicitly altered traditional performance benchmarks at some companies in a year when theme parks, advertising and theatrical revenue tanked and production stalled. The numbers they looked at were not profit and loss columns but rather leaned heavily on metrics committees called more “qualitative” than “quantitative,” including a pivot to streaming. Everyone got an “A” for effort.
Media CEO Salary & Pay: Richest Hollywood & Tech Executives – Deadline
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