It's proxy season for a lot of companies, and that means
we get to sneak a peek at their
executive compensation packages. Today, we're looking at
software mastodon
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT).
Starting at the top, CEO Steve Ballmer said "thanks, but
no thanks" to stock-based compensation and went home with a
paltry $1.28 million in salary and
bonusesthis year. That's slightly below last year's $1.35
million package, but Steve qualified for 90% of his potential
bonuses. This stellar performance evaluation rests on key
points like tight expense management and progress in areas
like the online search market and the development of Windows
7.
Of course, Ballmer is no pauper. He owns more than $10
billion in Microsoft stock, so this million-and-change is
just a drop in his very large bucket. That's almost always
the case when you see altruistic announcements that
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs or
Google 's(Nasdaq: GOOG) triumvirate of
Sergei, Larry, and Eric got a $1 paycheck. It's great
publicity, and these guys don't really need the money
anyway.
Further down the payroll, the board didn't award 90% of
the target bonuses to everybody. Have a look:
% of Target Bonus
Total Direct Compensation
Change From 2008
COO Kevin Turner
68%
$5.4 million
(37%)
CFO Chris Liddell
70%
$3.5 million
(26%)
Robert Bach, entertainment and devices
80% Continued... |