Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • IT Management
    • Mobile

    Oracle, Yahoo, Sprint Nextel Cited for High Executive Pay: Report

    By
    Nicholas Kolakowski
    -
    October 12, 2010
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Oracle, Yahoo and a handful of other tech giants found themselves singled out by research firm Glass Lewis & Co.’s latest “Pay Dirt” report, which details which executives are underpaid or overpaid relative to their companies’ overall performance.

      The firm assembled its lists of “Overpaid 25” and “Underpaid 25” companies from the S&P and Russell 3000 indices. Those companies with the worst pay-for-performance ratings for fiscal 2009 ended up on the “Underpaid” list, while the firm’s analysts assembled the “Overpaid” list to “provide examples of companies where pay and performance are tightly aligned.”

      The tech companies appearing on the “Overpaid” list included Yahoo, Novell, Sprint Nextel, Motorola, Micron Technology and Clearwire.

      “Was there even a global recession and financial crisis these past two years? Judging by many executives’ pay packages, it is hard to tell,” reads the report. “While average CEO pay in the S&P 500 declined in 2009, many executives continued to be paid extravagantly with little to no regard for corporate performance.”

      The highest-compensated tech CEO in the “Overpaid” category? Carol Bartz, at Yahoo. The report suggests Bartz “received approximately $39 million in 2009, roughly $25 million of which she received as stock options upon joining the company.” Part of Bartz’s package included a $10 million “make-whole” payment for leaving AutoDesk, which the report cited as an example of compensation with “no real justification.”

      The report also claimed Novell CEO Ronald Hovespian as an example of an executive who received payments misaligned with the company’s broader fortunes: “Although this pay level is quite reasonable compared with that of Ms. Bartz, or even with the average CEO pay for the S&P 500 index, Novell’s pay was high relative to performance, earning the company a spot on our Overpaid 25 list due to its severe underperformance compared to peers.”

      Sprint Nextel was another company cited for discrepancies between executive pay and overall performance, with the report calling the carrier “a perennial member of our Overpaid 25 list for the S&P 500. … Although Sprint Nextel failed to post a profit for the third straight year, the company paid its top five executives an estimated $26 million, with $10.3 million going to CEO Daniel Hesse.”

      But some tech executives managed to place on the report’s “Underpaid” list-most notably, Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos and Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

      “In 2009, Mr. Bezos received $81,840 in base salary in $1.7 million in the incremental cost of security arrangements. The sole compensation in 2009 for Mr. Jobs was his annual salary of $1.”

      Lists of the world’s richest people, such as the annual one assembled by Forbes, regularly name Bezos and Jobs as billionaires because of their existing holdings. For example, Jobs is a substantial stockholder in Disney, helping place his Forbes-calculated net worth at $6.1 billion.

      Glass Lewis & Co.’s report noted Oracle as another company offering its executives enormous pay packages: “It is customary for Oracle to grant its top executives massive amounts of stock options with no performance requirements. In 2009, the top five executives collectively received time-vesting options to purchase 20.5 million shares, which we valued at $145 million.”

      Oracle’s robust revenues were enough to keep it off the research firm’s “Overpaid” list. However, that didn’t stop the report from calling out the company’s newest executive for his take-home pay: “As of September 6, Oracle now also has the rare distinction of employing two people who simultaneously appear on our list of the highest paid CEOs. Mark Hurd, who is now a president of Oracle, earned the #14 ranking on our list of the highest paid CEOs for the $30.6 million he received from Hewlett-Packard in 2009.”

      Hurd’s deal under Oracle gives him a base salary of $950,000, a potential $10 million bonus and a grant of 10 million stock options, with a guarantee to purchase options of 5 million shares annually for the next five years-should he stay employed by the company. The report deems this compensation “exorbitant.”

      Nicholas Kolakowski
      Nicholas Kolakowski is a staff editor at eWEEK, covering Microsoft and other companies in the enterprise space, as well as evolving technology such as tablet PCs. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, Playboy, WebMD, AARP the Magazine, AutoWeek, Washington City Paper, Trader Monthly, and Private Air. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×