Executive pay: Have your say
Now it’s your turn to discuss executive pay.
AJC reporter Joe Guy Collier went yesterday and I’m going tomorrow.
In Sunday’s paper, Collier reported that median pay for senior executives of Georgia’s largest companies rose 3 percent last year to $1.9 million. That happened despite declines in profits and stock prices for most of the 20 largest public companies.
Median pay for the CEOs of those companies was $5.5 million last year.
What do you think?
Are they worth the money or not? If so, why? If not, what should be done about it?
For more info, go to this database of Georgia’s highest paid execs.
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35 comments Add your comment
Steve
June 14th, 2009
2:50 pm
I read the report where CCE’s CEO John Brock is the fourth highest paid executive in Atlanta. I happened to work with a number of CCE employees at the local level over the years and recently many of them were laid off. Since the layoffs Coke’s customer service has hit rock bottom and the attention to detail and knowledge of products is non-existent.
How can Mr. Brock justify his salary by laying off people with 15 – 30 years experience in Coke’s business to only replace them with less caring employees, who might cost a lot less in salary but way more in qualitative costs?
20 Greedy Scammers
June 14th, 2009
4:47 pm
I have banned Coke (went to Pepsi)from my house for over a year due to the ripoff pay the board gives big executives at Coke. Now I will boycott the other greedy scammers of consumer money (WE pay for perks). There is NO exec in this country that deserves more than $5 mil for their services. I urge EVERYONE to boycott the following companies products. Oh. I forgot , the thieves at Ga Power have us over a barrel don’t they? Perhaps we should clean house at the PSC!!!
Rank Name Company Total compensation
1 Neville Isdell Coca-Cola Co. $23,132,324
2 Muhtar Kent Coca-Cola Co. $19,628,585
3 Richard H. Anderson Delta Air Lines Inc. $17,442,655
4 John F. Brock Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. $11,927,626
5 Daniel P. Amos Aflac Inc. $10,783,232
6 Edward H. Bastian Delta Air Lines Inc. $10,774,131
7 Francis S. Blake Home Depot Inc. $9,244,533
8 David M. Ratcliffe Southern Co. $8,132,120
9 James M. Wells III SunTrust Banks Inc. $8,091,887
10 Martin Richenhagen AGCO Corp. $7,695,951
11 Stephen E. Gorman Delta Air Lines Inc. $7,617,930
12 Steven A. Cahillane Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. $7,072,327
13 Alexander Cummings Coca-Cola Co. $6,728,738
14 Howard S. Cohen BlueLinx Holdings Inc. $6,697,030
15 Edward R. Muller Mirant Corp. $6,061,769
16 Gary Fayard Coca-Cola Co. $6,041,767
17 Irial Finan Coca-Cola Co. $6,031,825
18 Jose Octavio Reyes Coca-Cola Co. $5,921,323
19 Michael H. Campbell Delta Air Lines Inc. $5,908,949
20 Glen W. Hauenstein Delta Air Lines Inc. $5,906,525
Anyone want to guess how many Cokes that have to be sold to recover that outrageous EIGHTY SIX & ONE HALF MILLION DOLLARS top honchos are paid???? Want to guess how many laid off employees could be rehired for all that money???? Damn thieves!!!!
Mark
June 14th, 2009
5:36 pm
Nice article and info I find useful. I am filing papers this week to start a consulting business that gives corporate board compensation committees comparables for executive pay.
Joel M. Koblentz
June 14th, 2009
5:47 pm
Remember, it is each company’s board of directors that sets executive compensation. If you are not a shareholder, you are not in the game. So, if one thinks executive pay for any company is out of bounds, be a shareholder and let your voice be heard by your company’s board of directors and its compensation committee. This should/will be easier under the forthcoming proposed SEC governance guidelines.
To criticize executive compensation, one must offer an alternative for executives leading these companies, many complex and global.
A few questions for consideration, among many…
Will great leaders be attracted or remain at these companies with lower compensation?
How will shareholders reward exceptional performance and penalize the substandard. And, how does/ should a board measure/weigh all the components of CEO and executive performance?
What will be the cost, including disruption, of replacing company leaders?
How will the markets react to the risk of leadership unknowns?
Glenn H.
June 14th, 2009
10:19 pm
Base pay for all executives unless you meet sales, expense and profit goals. No profit, no bonus. No more stock options. I know the saying that you can’t get talent unless you use stock options. You can hire people off the street to lose money and not pay them very much.
Jerry
June 15th, 2009
5:52 am
Coca Cola pays its executives more than they deserve compared to the other workers. I will not be bringing Coke products into my home!
drago
June 15th, 2009
7:09 am
Please say it again Joel M. Koblentz. Its up to the shareholders and board of directors that decides compensation at public traded companies.
Mike
June 15th, 2009
7:33 am
Lifetime Coke drinker has just had his last coke and I’m still smiling…
Gayla
June 15th, 2009
7:57 am
This is what I consider the ugly side of democracy and capitalism. Like it or not, this is how our society has evolved and unless we collectively seek to make some major cultural changes, this will never stop. It’s not about the freedom to pursue the American dream anymore, it’s about fair play when the american tax payers have to start picking up the bill for the bail out of for profit companies. The question is…would these exectutives do any better or worse at their job is there salaries were 5 or six figures? Perhaps it would bring off their mansions and yachts and back down to earth with the rest of us. I am sure many of these executives do great things with their money as well by supporting charities, but in the end…it’s just not fair.
Ry
June 15th, 2009
4:25 pm
Gayla, yes it would make a difference. I am not an exec, but do know that most work an exhorbitant number of hours and are under alot of stress. If their pay is cut significantly, and they work less hours because it is not worth 70-80 hours a week, the company will not perform as well. Have you thought about what would happen if these execs (the good ones) left companies? When the companies fail, how many more employees will lose their jobs. This is about the free market. Let the market and the shareholders decide what pay is fair. If it is not fair, the shareholders of the company have the right to change that, not the government.
slimpickens
June 15th, 2009
4:26 pm
When companies are paying this kind of money, you know their goods and services are priced way too high. I think we should all quit doing business with them. As a matter of fact, I haven’t drank a coke product in the last year and I doubt I ever have another.
Whine too much
June 15th, 2009
4:30 pm
All of you who are talking about fair really have no idea what you are talking about. As long as the companies are owned by the people and not by the government, then the top execs should make what ever the shareholders deem “fair”. And for coca cola fair is 86mil, who are you to argue against that when you have no stake or knowledge in how the company is run. Capitalism is not fair, nor should it be.
Tom
June 15th, 2009
4:34 pm
Hey, Whine too much, if you really believe that shareholders have a significant influence in determining executive comp, then your candy-cane train to Fairyland is about to leave the station. If you really want executives who are responsive to the shareholders, then make derivative suits much easier to maintain and win.
reservoirDAWG
June 15th, 2009
4:35 pm
I’m having a coke right now.
Pat
June 15th, 2009
4:36 pm
Agree with “Whine”….Compare the average American who makes $60K/year with a poor person in Sudan or Darfur who makes 6 dollars per year—-What’s “fair” about that. It’s all relative and a lot of class envy.
RT
June 15th, 2009
4:43 pm
Interesting that people are finally paying attention. I like the people who say they are not drinking coke any more. It’s why I drive a Toyota too!
Dan
June 15th, 2009
4:43 pm
Just for a little perspective, I worked at a company for 10 years, revenues of about $30B per year and about 100K employees. A co-worker was complaining about a $10M bonus the CEO received one year, (now keep in mind bonuses are intended to drive positive behavior), I then asked what if the company gave you a $100 extra in your annual bonus. Of course she said it would be insulting. Of course. The moral of the story being if you have a leader that motivates and makes sound economic decisions the money is better spent on him/her than giving $100 to every employee which would only tick them off
clyde
June 15th, 2009
4:55 pm
Only in their own minds are CEO’S worth the money they’re paid.Many of them presided over companies they ruined and still they walked off with huge chunks of money.They’re scamming their shareholders.
Dan
June 15th, 2009
4:57 pm
So those people not drinking coke any more (which is exactly how capitalism should work), what are you drinking? Unless it is tap water you are probably supporting the same behavior you find distasteful somewhere else.
Dan
June 15th, 2009
5:08 pm
No stock options? So you would rather the company pay all of the salary instead of letting the market pick up the tab to reward a good job? Precisely why that average $60K person isn’t entrusted to such decesions
Bill
June 15th, 2009
5:16 pm
I have a simple question. If your performance was unsatisfactory at your present job would you be terminated?
The companies that 20 Greedy Scammers mentions all have considerable debt, most have downsized their workforces and their stock is in the toilet.
The facts are ugly. I don’t believe the US has a moral compass anymore. It’s a pity. What was once the strongest country on the planet has become one filled with greed.
Atlanta Native
June 15th, 2009
5:49 pm
Someone has to make lots of money so makers of high end items can stay in business and pay their employees. So that servers at nice restaurants have someone to serve, etc. We need the wealthy to purchase things we make, stay at resorts that employ us, buy the first class seats, buy the jets, ad nauseum.
I do not see this type of discord about athlete’s salaries.
Also, Mr. Unger do not use the MEDIAN pay. Most people do not know what a median is (I know some of you do) so they think it is the average pay (which 20 Greedy scammers’ list makes clear is not the case).
As for not drinking Coke – did you not already know that $1.46 for 16 oz of fizzy sugar water was a rip-off to begin with? They deserve the money for hoodwinking us all. I mean, come on, they couldn’t just switch from cane sugar to high fructose corn syrup when cane sugar prices went up, they played bait and switch with the spurious “New Coke” deal. Sneaky, but brilliant.
What people do not truly understand is the scale of things in the US and the world. It is hard to step back and realize the breadth of product infiltration. Think about the convenience store nearest you. How many Coca-Cola products are there? How many convenience stores are in your locality? State? The US? The world? How about grocery stores and the like? Now move on to fast food chains. Chain restaurants, privately owned restaurants. Ballfields from Pop Warner and little league on up through to the major leagues in the US. Now thing world wide sports, soccer, cricket, etc. Vending machines. Airports. It never ends. Is it beginning to sink in on the amount of colored sugar syrup these guys sell? They manage to keep us convinced that we need to suck this stuff down with at least on meal a day. Their salary is a pittance in comparison.
PS Do this with jewelry stores and explain to me why diamonds are so valuable. They aren’t.
The free market sets their salaries. If they made a deal with the devil and took stimulus funds, (probably based on an earlier deal with the devil to increase their worth at the expense of the shareholders) we have a right to monitor the financials, including executive pay. If not, then we do not.
If something is going to happen, what we need is shareholder derivative suits. Sue the CEO’s who intentionally hid risky loans for fraud. The victories will be few in the end, but the specter of the expensive suit defense and the victories will keep them thinking (how to cover their tracks, in some cases) about what they do and who their allegiance.
Atlanta Native
June 15th, 2009
5:59 pm
“to whom their allegiance is owed” Sorry.
Also – when is the last time someone complained so much about how much Brad and Angelina make? What profit Rhianna made off of “Umbrella”? Simon Cowell’s multi-millions? How long has it been since the “Friends” crew demanded $1 million/episode each? Why are they not demonized by the media and politicians for making so much unneeded money? Why not have caps on their salaries? Hmmmm.
Kevin
June 15th, 2009
6:40 pm
No we should not this is Usa not Russia we a republic if people forget….of course schools say we not….if look in bill of rights n the const. government not supose run auto companys n banks that not what foundin fathers stated in the bills.We free to have rights to spend what have to make money for Me and U n if people stop listen to the papers are Ajc Oh the evil rich did it u wrong
JoeV
June 15th, 2009
6:56 pm
Nail meet hammer.
Well done Atlanta Native.
Tom
June 15th, 2009
6:58 pm
Why focus on business exec pay? how come hollywood gets a free pass from criticism or professional sports players or musicians??? If you use the entertaintment word as a defense its no different from you choosing to see their movie or concert vs choosing to use a company’s particular product (whose CEO gets paid whatever). With Obama in office, seems that class warfare is creeping in as is the attack on anything capatilism (yet, Hollywood gets a free pass…hmmm. oh yea, they’re all liberals..my bad).
vuduchld
June 15th, 2009
7:00 pm
Not one of these executives listed are worth the compensation they’re receiving. At the end of the day it is the front line worker and shareholder who keeps the company moving. Why should any Delta executive receive compensation? If they threaten to go somewhere else if they’re not compensated then I say: SHOW THEM THE DOOR. I could care less about their work days or stress. These companies laid off employees why should these scumbag execs be rewarded for failing!?
gatorman770
June 15th, 2009
7:17 pm
I have no problem with corporate executives being compensated up to 5 million or so base yearly salary, but all bonus and golden parachutes should be based on positive growth of the company including growth in American jobs and income to the stock holders.
What really chaps my buns is when a CEO leaves a company (either forced out or otherwise) with a 100 million dollar golden parachute and the stock is worth less than half of what was worth when he/she took the job of CEO. That what the government needs to get control of.
Larry
June 15th, 2009
7:23 pm
Yes, they are overpaid. Just as are Sports stars and celebrities. If you want to cut executive pay, then cut sports salaries and actors/singers/celebrities pay.
Why all the wealth envy?
June 15th, 2009
7:26 pm
Wow, Obama has done a great job bringing about the wealth envy crowd and vilifying corporate executives. For the person who switched to Pepsi over Coke, what do you think Pepsi pays their executives? About the same as Coke does. If you say you don’t care about what they’ve done to get there, then you aren’t a very rational person. It’s pathetic how much people are jealous of other successful people but never seem to blame themselves for anything.
the evil rich
June 15th, 2009
7:40 pm
It is NOT the government’s job to set pay/compensation rates. Having said that, anybody that takes taxpayer money SHOULD answer to the taxpayers. Compensation should be based on results, and NOT poor ones!
Schuyler
June 15th, 2009
7:47 pm
First we need to reform shareholder voting. Shareholders ballots are a farce because huge blocks of stock are held by giant mutual fund managers like Fidelity, and Franklin Funds. These fund managers seek to get pension management and other business from companies, so of course they vote their shares in favor of whatever management wants. This means they vote in favor of whorey directors who vote for any pay raise the greedy executives want. Any mutual fund seeking business from management should be disqualified for shareholder voting. Then the SEC should require that all companies ask shareholders to at least hold an advisory vote on executive compensation.
legalbeaglenot
June 15th, 2009
8:19 pm
the problem with these boards is that they are usually insiders. for gods sake, king and spalding had a powerful board seat and they were coke’s own law firm. wonder how many millions were lost in frivilous litigation and useless transactional work because of that.
Stick In The Mud
June 15th, 2009
9:22 pm
What rankles people the most is that CEO pay is not linked to performance: heads I win, tails you lose thats the way it works. Bob Nardelli nearly destroyed Home Depot but he walked away with more than 200 million and went to work destroying Chrysler. The same pattern is being repeated over and over again. The game is rigged and the people have figured out that rank and file workers and shareholders are the only ones not in on the trick. I hope the government steps in becaise the vaunted “free market” has failed over and over again to check and correct itself. Unbridled capitalism has failed in almost every area and brought the world to the brink of economic collapse.Long live Karl Marxx!
Rob
June 15th, 2009
9:36 pm
I think some people are really missing the point. Atheletes and celebrities are not making millions while rank and file employees are being laid off, losing their job, spouses, minds.
When American employees suffer due to poor company performance it is extremely unreasonable to be paying executives $500 K+ per month and at the same time be laying off employees making 2, 3 or $4,000 per month.
I really don’t understand how these “executives” can live with themselves racking up millions while “their” employees lose everything. THAT IS NOT AMERICAN.
Many executives have opted to be paid one dollar per year until their companies return to profitability. There was a time when people didn’t expect to be paid unless they earned it. That is American.