How Does A Corporate Auto Executive Get To Make 15 Million Dollars A Year In Salary Alone ? Is Anybody Worth This Much ?

[gabrielo19]

Do these guys truly fill out a job application ? How do they answer the " desired salary " slot .......ah, 15 million dollars will be about appropriate, sir ?

[delrico]

I believe that decoupling executive "bonuses" from the efficiency of their businesses is element of what?s gone seriously incorrect in American enterprise. Even such a nominally appropriate-leaning supply as Fox News appears to get it:       Not a lot of Americans can retire after only six years on the job, but not numerous Americans are Bob Nardelli.   The former CEO of The Home Depot Inc.(HD) could buy himself a fiefdom as he walks away from the company?s Atlanta headquarters with a $210 million compensation package that involves $20 million in money severance and $32 million in retirement advantages. . .   The newly unemployed Nardelli?s scenario is vastly various from the average Georgian laid off from operate.   According to the state?s Division of Labor, the average weekly unemployment-insurance advantage is about $250, though workers could be eligible for up to $320 for a maximum of 26 weeks. The Bureau of Labor Statistics for the federal Division of Labor does not keep unemployment insurance averages, as claim amounts differ from state to state.   Judged on the unemployment insurance limit of 26 weeks, Nardelli would be raking in $769,230.77 a week on his severance alone.   Organization Week, too, seems to believe there's a issue:   Possibilities are you didn't do this well in 2007: $120 million for Countrywide's Mozilo, a $161 million retirement package for former Merrill Lynch CEO O'Neal, and $39.5 million in stock, possibilities, perks, and bonus for Citigroup's former boss Prince. And that is despite their companies losing much more than $20 billion on investments in subprime and other risky mortgages throughout the final two quarters of last year. . .   Corporate compensation committee members also took the stand, as it were, on Mar. 7. Asked why Merrill permitted O'Neal to retire and maintain his $131 million in stock and possibilities?rather than be sacked?the chairman of the firm's compensation committee, John Finnegan, said the board lacked cause. Lost the ship loads of money, exercised poor judgment, took risks? Some individuals think so. But unethical behavior? None of that, stated Finnegan.   When was the final time anything like that happened to the money-losing danger-taker in your sales division?   From the Wall Street Journal:   Activist shareholders have extended complained that large consulting firms frequently simultaneously advise directors about executives' compensation and provide benefits consulting or other human-resources advice to management. Activists say these consultants have an incentive to please managers, who control those more lucrative contracts.   The issue gained new prominence last week when the Residence Government Oversight Committee concluded that practically half of the 250 largest public organizations get executive-spend advice from consultants who also supply other solutions to the firm. A committee report found that median CEO pay was 67% greater at companies with the biggest conflicts than at those whose consultants had no conflicts. MSN Funds did a survey a few years back, looking for the CEOs who had been most overpaid and underworked. The "winners" were:   Best honors go to Gary Smith at Ciena (CIEN, news, msgs). His shareholders have been practically wiped out -- losing 93% in the previous four years. His compensation more than that period: $41.two million.   Jure Sola, the CEO and chairman at Sanmina-SCI (SANM, news, msgs) collected $26.four million for the duration of the past 4 years while Sanmina shares fell 78%. The bulk of Sola's spend came in the kind of a efficiency bonus of $19.9 million, paid for hitting one recent quarter's targets.   Sun Microsystems (SUNW, news, msgs) paid Scott McNealy, its CEO, chairman and founder, $13.1 million a year over the past 4 years, even as Sun's shareholders lost 76% of their money.   Shares of supermarket chain Albertson's (ABS, news, msgs) fell 39% more than the previous four years. Despite this dismal record, Albertsons CEO and Chairman Larry Johnston collected a total of $76.two million in that time.   Under CEO Peter Dolans watch at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY, news, msgs), shareholders have noticed the stock decline by 48% more than the previous 4 years. Dolan took property $41 million. What's been happening is excessive, and I do not consider it'll last a lot longer. Quite a lot every company that I've heard of possessing large payouts that are not connected to the company's overall performance, either has currently gone out of organization, or appears shaky. They're the deadwood that the recession will weed out.

[jen]

[Amoux]

These folks enjoy a reality distinct from are own, Wolfman. They've all worked for 1 one more or sat on the same board of directors or otherwise inhabit some type of "old-boy" net work. The boards set the salaries for each and every other and the best honcho. It is a sort of, you scratch my behind, I will scratch yours kind of point. And they know where everyone's bodies are buried. It's one particular big corporate enjoy fest. And they never fill out no stinkin' paper perform of any kind they've got no one executive secretaries that only get a lousy 100k a year to do that for them. But you tell me, do the final results for Chrysler, Ford or GM appear like $15 million worth to you? Exactly where are the stock holders? I guess that's truly why they need to have a bailout, the s.h.'s will lynch them.

[Dilwyn]

maggo said: 1 These folks enjoy a reality different from are own, Wolfman. They've all worked for one another or sat on the same board of directors or otherwise inhabit some form of "old-boy" net work. The boards set the salaries for each other and the top honcho. It's a sort of, you scratch my behind, I'll scratch yours kind of thing. And they know where everyone's bodies are buried. It's one big corporate love fest. And they don't fill out no stinkin' paper work of any kind; they've got nobody executive secretaries that only get a lousy 100k a year to do that for them. But you tell me, do the results for Chrysler, Ford or GM look like $15 million worth to you? Where are the stock holders? I guess that's really why they need a bailout, the s.h.'s will lynch them. 61 months ago

[Alhhard]

Executive compensation is out of control I believe that decoupling executive "bonuses" from the performance of their companies is part of what?s gone seriously wrong in American business. Even such a nominally right-leaning source as Fox News seems to get it:       Not many Americans can retire after only six years on the job, but not many Americans are Bob Nardelli.   The former CEO of The Home Depot Inc.(HD) could buy himself a fiefdom as he walks away from the company?s Atlanta headquarters with a $210 million compensation package that includes $20 million in cash severance and $32 million in retirement benefits. . .   The newly unemployed Nardelli?s situation is vastly different from the average Georgian laid off from work.   According to the state?s Department of Labor, the average weekly unemployment-insurance benefit is around $250, though workers may be eligible for up to $320 for a maximum of 26 weeks. The Bureau of Labor Statistics for the federal Department of Labor does not keep unemployment insurance averages, as claim amounts vary from state to state.   Judged on the unemployment insurance limit of 26 weeks, Nardelli would be raking in $769,230.77 a week on his severance alone.   Business Week, too, seems to think there's a problem:   Chances are you didn't do this well in 2007: $120 million for Countrywide's Mozilo, a $161 million retirement package for former Merrill Lynch CEO O'Neal, and $39.5 million in stock, options, perks, and bonus for Citigroup's former boss Prince. And that's despite their companies losing more than $20 billion on investments in subprime and other risky mortgages during the final two quarters of last year. . .   Corporate compensation committee members also took the stand, as it were, on Mar. 7. Asked why Merrill allowed O'Neal to retire and keep his $131 million in stock and options?rather than be sacked?the chairman of the firm's compensation committee, John Finnegan, said the board lacked cause. Lost the ship loads of money, exercised bad judgment, took risks? Some people think so. But unethical behavior? None of that, said Finnegan.   When was the last time something like that happened to the money-losing risk-taker in your sales department?   From the Wall Street Journal:   Activist shareholders have long complained that large consulting firms often simultaneously advise directors about executives' compensation and provide benefits consulting or other human-resources advice to management. Activists say these consultants have an incentive to please managers, who control those more lucrative contracts.   The issue gained new prominence last week when the House Government Oversight Committee concluded that nearly half of the 250 largest public companies get executive-pay advice from consultants who also provide other services to the company. A committee report found that median CEO pay was 67% higher at companies with the largest conflicts than at those whose consultants had no conflicts. MSN Money did a survey a few years back, looking for the CEOs who were most overpaid and underworked. The "winners" were:   Top honors go to Gary Smith at Ciena (CIEN, news, msgs). His shareholders have been virtually wiped out -- losing 93% in the past four years. His compensation over that period: $41.2 million.   Jure Sola, the CEO and chairman at Sanmina-SCI (SANM, news, msgs) collected $26.4 million during the past four years while Sanmina shares fell 78%. The bulk of Sola's pay came in the form of a performance bonus of $19.9 million, paid for hitting one recent quarter's targets.   Sun Microsystems (SUNW, news, msgs) paid Scott McNealy, its CEO, chairman and founder, $13.1 million a year over the past four years, even as Sun's shareholders lost 76% of their money.   Shares of supermarket chain Albertson's (ABS, news, msgs) fell 39% over the past four years. Despite this dismal record, Albertsons CEO and Chairman Larry Johnston collected a total of $76.2 million in that time.   Under CEO Peter Dolans watch at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY, news, msgs), shareholders have seen the stock decline by 48% over the past four years. Dolan took home $41 million. What's been happening is excessive, and I don't think it'll last much longer. Pretty much every company that I've heard of having huge payouts that aren't connected to the company's performance, either has already gone out of business, or seems shaky. They're the deadwood that the recession will weed out. Sources: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,241680,00.html http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/mar2008/db2008038_337651_page_2.htm http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119725433192818987.html?mod=googlewsj http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/P125120.asp   Murstein's Recommendations Executive Compensation Answer Book, 6th Edition Amazon List Price: $225.00 Even books on the subject seem overpriced! Murstein 61 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[Turi]

The stockholders see one man when the stock makes money, and decide to reward him for someone else's work The real question is where is the board of directors' minds when they vote to approve a pay like this(which obviously will come out of company profits.) They are thinking that we need to keep this guy to run this company so that it makes money for all of us. The Tyco board of directors seriously thought this of Dennis Kucinich. They were wrong. Humans very often are. But don't expect an apology from them for their wrongness.   danielpauldavis 61 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[MacAlpin]

it's nuts as is the amounts that are paid to athletes.....   A beer at a ball game is approaching $10....(maybe in some parks it already is) I was at the Meadlowlands a couple years back and they were selling cups of water for $4.   I don't think anyone is worth that much unless as one Askville member stated, they invent something...or cure a disease....Then, that kind of money seems reasonable...   Imagine a real cure for cancer or diabetes...something that wiped them out for good? That would be worth something....   But a CEO?  15 million would be enough to hire 300 people a year at a salary of $50,000....   I don't see how one guy is worth more than 300.....   Some people may cite leadership and vision and innovation as a justification for large sums..... and they are probably correct to some extent....but enough money to pay 300 people???   And then when the company goes under, its seems impossible to justify private jets and 15 million.... Sources: Independents for a Better America pete74 61 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[Corcurachan]

Free market capitalism says that an item is worth what it sells for, and that a person earns what his employer is willing to pay.  Apparently in the auto executive world, the going rate is $15 million.   Is this right or fair?  A free market capitalist would say that if the employer was willing to pay it, then it must be the going rate.   Honestly, how else could you set pay?  If you set a cap on a person's pay, then you leave him no incentive to work harder.  Why should he expend any effort at all when the reward is not going to go up?  Would you work harder or better if there was no reward?  Capping salaries for work is skating dangerously close to communism or socialism, where the employee does not earn according to merit, but only according to the master planners.   You need only look at Russian(and for that matter, British and Canadian) doctors.  They are paid on a government scale, not on a free market.  As a result, they do the minimum that they can to treat patients, and you can see that in the dissatisfaction with the medical system in those countries. There is no incentive for then to do a good job or even treat their patients right.    

[Lindell]

as is the amounts that are paid to athletes.....   A beer at a ball game is approaching $10....(maybe in some parks it already is) I was at the Meadlowlands a couple years back and they were selling cups of water for $4.   I don't think anyone is worth that much unless as one Askville member stated, they invent something...or cure a disease....Then, that kind of money seems reasonable...   Imagine a real cure for cancer or diabetes...something that wiped them out for good? That would be worth something....   But a CEO?  15 million would be enough to hire 300 people a year at a salary of $50,000....   I don't see how one guy is worth more than 300.....   Some people may cite leadership and vision and innovation as a justification for large sums..... and they are probably correct to some extent....but enough money to pay 300 people???   And then when the company goes under, its seems impossible to justify private jets and 15 million....