Median CEO Pay Crosses $10 Million in 2013

The Houston Chronicle (May 27, Sweet) cites a new Associated Press/Equilar pay study in reporting that "the median pay package for a CEO rose above eight figures for the first time last year." Researchers found that the head of a Standard & Poor's 500 company earned a record $10.5 million -- up 8.8 percent from $9.6 million in 2012. In recent years, companies' boards of directors have tweaked executive pay in response to critics' calls for CEO pay to be more attuned to company performance. Many have cut back on stock options and cash bonuses, which often rewarded executives even when a firm performed poorly. "Boards of directors have placed more emphasis on paying CEOs in stock instead of cash and stock options," the Chronicle concludes. "The change became a boon for CEOs last year because of a surge in stocks that drove the S&P 500 index up 30 percent." Ken Sweet, @kensweet, AP Business Writer

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New List Shows the Top 25 Companies for Pay and Perks

"Google, Costco, and Facebook top a new Glassdoor survey of companies with great salaries and benefits," reports USA Today (May 26, Kelly-Barton). Also according to the poll, 39 percent of American workers say they believe they are under-compensated for their work. At the same time, 57 percent of the workers surveyed said it's up to employers and not government to address the issue. "The top items on their wish list are better pay policies, clearer top-down communication, and greater transparency about pay," notes the newspaper. The survey's results are based on a year's worth of verified feedback from U.S. employees who use Glassdoor, a career community website. While the list features companies that compensate their staffers well, what stands out are the often creative benefits -- everything from flex-time to work-from-home options to pet insurance. Of the top 25, the tech sector placed a dozen of its companies on the list. According to USA Today, "pharmaceutical and biotechnology make up the second-largest group with three representatives: Genentech, Amgen, and Pfizer. Costco, at No. 2 on the list, is the only retailer to make the chart." Casey Kelly-Barton, The Motley Fool

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REIT Governance: The Capital of Transparency

When it comes to corporate governance, the relationship between boards and investors boils down to putting some faith in the directors and management, contends Clifford Smith, chairman of Home Properties Inc. (NYSE: HME) and professor of finance and economics at the Simon Business School at the University of Rochester. Charles Keenan, REIT.com


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Doubling Down on CEO Pay

"In an era of what many perceive as outsize executive compensation," reports the New York Times (May 15, Gelles), "it's not unusual for a successful public company to lavish its chief executive with a multimillion-dollar pay package." When there are two chiefs, as is the case with Chipotle Mexican Grill, the paydays for both often end up being supersized. Chipotle paid its co-CEO Steve Ells $25.1 million in cash and stock in 2013 and its other co-CEO Montgomery Moran $24.4 million. Each man individually made more than the CEOs of such bigger companies as AT&T, Boeing, and Ford Motors. Since 2011, Ells and Moran have each made over $100 million on top of their salaries via a complex mix of stock awards. "Now the pay packages and unusual co-chief executive arrangement are drawing scrutiny from investors," notes the Times. "At Chipotle’s annual meeting in Denver on Thursday, shareholders will vote on two measures related to the company’s executive compensation." The first proposal would ratify the current compensation plan, while the second would increase the number of shares available for future grants to executives.

With Executive Pay, Bosses and Boards Need Sensitivity Training

"Here's what I do know: We often look at executive jobs and think, "Hey, I could do that!" But really, you can't. In fact, CEOs often miss the mark, and as a result, CEO turnover is actually quite high--14.2 percent in 2011 for the largest 2,500 companies. We can all tell in retrospect that someone did a bad job, but predicting going forward is much more difficult." Suzanne Lucas,  @REALEVILHRLADY, Inc.

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