ISS pressures Mylan ahead of shareholder vote

Influential proxy firm ISS on Monday turned up the heat on Mylan NV, advising its institutional clients to voice their dissatisfaction with the generic drugmaker's board of directors and its chairman's pay package at its June 22 shareholder meeting.

ISS's urged votes against 10 board members and executive pay packages, recommendations that come after a small group of high-profile investors, including the state and city of New York pension funds and the California teachers pension fund, urged other shareholders to vote against six board members and Chairman Robert Coury. It cited Mylan's eroding reputation and share price.

BUSINESS NEWS | Mon Jun 12, 2017 | 12:19pm EDT

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BP cuts CEO's pay package after shareholder backlash

BP (BP.L) has cut Chief Executive Bob Dudley's 2016 pay package by 40 percent to $11.6 million, the latest British bluechip company to rein in executive pay after a wave of shareholder revolts.

The oil company has reduced Dudley's payout and introduced changes from this year that will lower executives' performance incentives. The cuts come after around 60 percent of shareholders opposed BP's pay policy at last year's annual general meeting.

Executive pay has come under growing scrutiny in Britain after a string of corporate scandals, such as the collapse of store chain BHS, which has fueled mistrust of the high levels of pay awarded to company bosses.

By Karolin Schaps | LONDON

BUSINESS NEWS | Thu Apr 6, 2017 | 11:55am EDT

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Is a CEO Worth $200 Million? Shareholders at Rail Giant Think So

Is superstar railroad executive Hunter Harrison worth a $200 million pay package? For that matter, is any CEO worth that?

The question has arisen in a shareholder activist’s campaign to shake up CSX Corp., one of North America’s major railroads. To sway investors and board members, Paul Hilal has promised to install Harrison as the company’s chief executive officer. In the rail business, that’s like a basketball owner vowing to recruit LeBron James. And like James, Harrison doesn’t come cheap.

In a highly unusual public negotiation, Harrison, 72, is demanding compensation in the nine figures to take the job, much of it tied to stock awards. The CSX board has said it would welcome Harrison as CEO, but not at the pay level requested, calling it “exceptionally unusual, if not unprecedented” for an incoming boss. Indeed, Harrison would be in the rarefied compensation neighborhood of people like investment banker Paul J. Taubman or Patrick Soon-Shiong, the pharma billionaire.

By Anders Melin and Frederic Tomesco, March 6th, 2017, Bloomberg Technology

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CEO pay still high, but no longer a runaway train

Seeking to raise profits, the board of Mylan NV two years ago authorized an aggressive bonus program for its top executives if they could meet certain targets. Last year, when they beat those targets, the stock soared – briefly – and chief executive officer Heather Bresch saw her pay rise to $18.9 million, double what she got in 2013.

But one reason profits rose was that the pharmaceutical company doubled the price of its popular EpiPen, used to treat allergic reactions. When consumers started complaining, the stock fell back to earth and the company has scrambled to meet those concerns while scrutiny from Congress ratchets up.

By Laurent Belsie, Staff writer SEPTEMBER 5, 2016 , The Christian science monitor

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May to Outline U.K. Plans to Rein In Excessive Executive Pay

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May will outline plans this fall to clamp down on “excessive” executive pay, after one of her lawmakers last week criticized high compensation levels for FTSE 100 bosses as “socially divisive.”

“To restore greater fairness, we will bring forward a consultation this autumn on measures to tackle corporate irresponsibility, cracking down on excessive corporate pay and poor corporate governance,” May told a news conference on Monday after the Group of 20 summit in Hangzhou, China. The proposals will also include giving employees and customers representation on company boards.

By Eddie Buckle  @EddieBuckle
September 5, 2016 — 8:47 AM EDT, BLOOMBERG
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Most companies not planning on better pay raises next year

Lower unemployment rates usually lead to a rise in salaries. But even as unemployment hovers near a six-year low, U.S. companies say they have no plans to make increases to the money they set aside for pay raises next year.

The finding is based on a survey of 461 companies commissioned by the Conference Board, which provides data on business trends. According to the report, companies plan to raise their budgets for pay increases by a median of 3% in 2017, the same rate as in each of the last six years.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, Market Watch, Dalilah Buzz,  Aug 2, 2016 4:53 p.m. ET

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Here’s the Surprising Truth About How Much the Average CEO Earns

There’s been a lot of attention recently devoted to the outsized compensation packages some CEOs of well-known companies make. In fact, one recent studyfound that CEOs of the biggest U.S. companies earn, on average, a whopping $16.3 million annually. Apiece.

That’s crazy. But it’s actually not the norm. According to new research from Glassdoor.com, the median salary for an American chief executive today isn’t seven or eight figures — it doesn’t even crack the million-dollar mark. Rather, the average person with CEO on his or her business card makes a comfortable if not outrageous $177,800 a year.

• Martha C. White

Aug. 1, 2016, TIME MONEY

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