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.