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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UK's top shareholders to propose executive pay shake-up

Some of the UK's largest shareholders and senior directors at FTSE firms will this week demand a radical re-think in the way chief executives and top company earners are paid.

In a report to be published on Tuesday, leading UK corporate figures including the CEO of Legal and General, Nigel Wilson, and the chair of the Investment Association, Helena Morrissey, are expected to argue the current method of pay-setting is flawed, and propose overhauling the dominance of the long-term incentive plans (LTIPs) in determining top pay packets and bonuses.

The report comes after another AGM season of high-profile rebellions at what shareholders deemed excessive levels of pay in company boardrooms. It is also particularly timely given prime minister Theresa May's promise to reform corporate governance. In her short time in office she has already signalled plans to force companies to publish pay ratios, put employee representatives in the boardroom and pay closer scrutiny to foreign takeovers.

CITY A.M., Jake Cordell, Sunday 24 July 2016 6:48pm

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Pay Gap Widens Between Finance Execs, Rank and File

The gap between the pay of finance executives and rank-and-file workers widened once again in 2015, according to the annual compensation survey from Grant Thornton and the Financial Executives Research Foundation (FERF).

Among 363 respondents with titles including CFO, corporate controller, vice president of finance, director of finance/accounting, and chief accounting officer, the average base salary was up 4.0% from 2014.

Various sources had estimated that the average salary bump for all workers last year would be 3.0% to 3.1%. “If I were a finance executive and got a 4% raise, I’d probably be happy about it, comparing it to what the overall labor market is doing,” says Tom Thompson, FERF’s research director.

By David McCann June 24, 2016 | CFO.com | US

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