CEO pay surged in 2020, a year of historic business upheaval, a wrenching labor market for many workers and unprecedented challenges for many leaders. Median pay for the chief executives of more than 300 of the biggest U.S. public companies reached $13.7 million last year, up from $12.8 million for the same companies a year…
Tag: ceo pay
CEOs of public U.S. firms earn 320 times as much as workers. Even some CEOS say the gap is too big — Quoting VEA Vice Chair Nell Minow
Individual investors who consider corporate pay practices to be excessive may feel helpless about the rising pay gap. But they shouldn’t, Minow said. “Just about everybody has a 401k plan, mutual funds, some kind of pension plan,” she said. “Is your pension plan approving all of these pay plans? If so, you can do something…
Let Them Eat Tacos: Chipotle Board Wildly Overpays the CEO Because Pandemic
Chipotle’s board has decided that their CEO deserves extra pay due to the pressures of the pandemic. So, “we made “COVID-related modifications” to CEO’s performance shares that increase the total level of his reported compensation from $14.8 M to $38 M.” Compensation Committee: Chairman: Neil W. Flanraich Patricia Fili-Krushel Greg Engles Mauricio Guttierez The board…
Executive Compensation and Climate Targets
As environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues increasingly take center-stage, there is more interest from investors and boards in putting climate targets in their compensation policies. “Willis Towers Watson is partnering with Climate Governance initiative in collaboration with the World Economic Forum to survey and interview board directors and Remuneration Committee members to understand how…
Agenda – CEO Pay Seesaws Under Pandemic Pressure
Despite an across-the-board dip in median financial performance, total direct compensation at median for CEOs among early filers in 2020 rose 8% over 2019 comp, according to a new report by Compensation Advisory Partners. By contrast, for the 2019 fiscal year, early-filer total direct comp rose only 2% at median. The increase, however, is deceptive,…
Starbucks Shareholders Reject Executive Pay Proposal – WSJ
Starbucks Corp. shareholders rejected the coffee company’s executive compensation proposal, a rare rebuke to a major U.S. company. The plan voted down by Starbucks shareholders Wednesday includes millions of dollars in bonus and retention pay for Starbucks’ chief executive, though the resolution was nonbinding and may not affect executives’ compensation. Only 10 S&P 500 companies…
Why Is CEO Pay In the COVID Relief Bill?
Tim Noah writes in The New Republic about how CEO pay ended up in the COVID relief bill, an unfortunate reminder of the failure of 162M, the last time Congress tried to limit CEO pay through the tax code: Everybody knows that top corporate executives get paid much more than they’re worth—and that ever-rising income…
Tightened executive pay limits tucked into coronavirus aid bill – Roll Call
Million-dollar compensation packages would get pricier for big corporations under a late insert to keep the $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid package in line with its deficit targets. A provision that first appeared in the Senate’s version of the huge relief bill last week and then survived the floor amendment “vote-a-rama” would potentially double the number…
Clawbacks Are Hard, So Companies Try Postponing Pay Instead – WSJ
We suppose this is a step in the right direction, though we’d rather see restrictions on selling vested stock until three years after leaving the company. Companies are withholding more of their top officers’ pay for longer, hoping to avoid the hassle of recouping money when—or if—executives are later found responsible for misconduct. The changes…
Jeff Immelt Oversaw the Downfall of G.E. Now He’d Like You to Read His Book. – The New York Times
Jeff Immelt’s leadership at GE had disastrous results for investors. He says all of his retirement was in GE stock, but the fact that he was paid $200 million probably eased the pain. In that context, take a look at this exchange: Do you feel like there’s a fundamental misalignment between compensation in this economy,…
