While wandering through Gannett's newly filed annual Form 10-K, I tripped across a contract that was clearly written with one executive in mind: Chris Saridakis, 40 (left), named senior vice president and chief digital officer on Jan. 14, 2008.Curiously, the Digital Long-Term Incentive Plan appears to be dated Dec. 4, 2007, a full month before his appointment was made public. The document is Exhibit 10.16-1, and it's way, way toward the back of the 10-K. Here are highlights:
Digital Long-Term Incentive Plan
(DLTIP or Plan) is designed to provide incentive and retention for the Senior Vice President & Chief Digital Officer to achieve the goals of the Company’s strategic plan by guiding the transformation of Gannett Co. Inc. to compete successfully in digital businesses. The Plan is adopted under and subject to the 2001 Omnibus Incentive Compensation Plan. The Plan focuses on the attainment of goals over a 4-year period in Digital Revenues and resulting EBITDA.
Eligibility: The Senior Vice President & Chief Digital Officer
Performance Period: Jan. 1, 2008, through Dec. 31, 2011
Target Payment: Approximately $4,000,000
Payment: Any award earned from this Plan will be calculated after the end of the 4-year term, and will be paid in February 2012, except under limited circumstances described below.
Brief Plan Outline: The SVP & Chief Digital Officer will have a leadership role in achieving the goals of the Company’s strategic plan by guiding the transformation of Gannett Co. Inc. to compete successfully in digital businesses. His objective will be to expand the Company’s digital revenues and profits, either by growing existing sources or finding new ones.
The Plan has an ultimate objective of Gannett gradually reaching [ redacted ] in digital revenues by 2011 with strong EBITDA margins. Lesser amounts may be earned for progress towards this goal.
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So he has been in a year--what has he done? Is he making progress toward this goal?
ReplyDelete(At least it won't be paid out until 2012.)
Any guesses on what the (redacted) figure is? Mine is that he has to bring in $100 million in revenues to get his $4 million. Also I note there are rumors around he is either going or already gone, so maybe he didn't get off to a good start. I do note that Web revenues seem to be declining not increasing.
ReplyDeleteThat is a lot of money earned by spying on Moms site users. Wow.
ReplyDeleteWhat a [redacted]. Didn't he rake in enough money by selling his businesses to the company??
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteBig deal! I hope he does well and so should the rest of Gannett. We need to find more people like him. This guy doesn't take shit from anyone. I have seen him present several times and, unlike other executives, this guy does not back down.
ReplyDeleteIf he does well, the company should do well. I just hope that Gannett can try and keep him around long enough.
Hey, imagine if your bonus wasn't coming for four years. I bet you'd kick ass making sure goals were made.
ReplyDeleteI like paying for performance. Now, can we apply that to everyone in the Crystal Palace?
Was this guy responsible for the horrible new Web site? Whoever did that was the one who castrated Gannett. Traffic down, Pluck sucks, etc.
ReplyDeleteHa--just had to post so I could use the verification word: honour.
ReplyDeleteHow appropriate for this subject!
8:01 a.m. you guys get all the good verification words! Mine rarely make sense ... hey, wait, they could be headlines on our Web site!
ReplyDeleteIf he hits the threshold, we all win. Why shouldn't he share in the benefit, given that this is value that he is creating? Also remember what the Web 2.0 market was like in late 2007. Maybe he had other opportunities in Silicon Valley that would have been more lucrative than coming to a newspaper company.
ReplyDeleteOdd. Really odd that he should report to Dubow instead of that other digital guy.
ReplyDeleteNice to hear that Saridickless "doesn't take shit from anyone." Too bad he doesn't handle information from his subordinates as well. I've had several colleagues in Digital tell me that he's a typical emperor with no clothes, who shoots the messenger when there's bad news.
ReplyDeleteThis guy is another self-enriching ad salesman who is here for as much as he can get before moving on to the next sucker.
"Omnibus Incentive Compensation Plan"?
ReplyDeleteSeriously, WTF?
These guys are straight out of the movie, Brazil.
Bwah-hahahahahaha.
Most of the people who post on this blog have a very naive perspective on how companies are run.
ReplyDeleteSo, if you were goaled to bring in $100 million in revenue over four years, how much should you be paid? (Personally $100 million over four years seems pretty low. It's probably closer to $250 million or so.)
Net from digital was only 16 million last year.
ReplyDelete"This guy doesn't take shit from anyone... this guy does not back down."
ReplyDeleteWhat is this? The Army?
"I hope he does well and so should the rest of Gannett."
This isn't how Gannett works. Exec's rake in the profits, we get cut!
For 8:45 a.m., is "goal" a verb?
ReplyDeleteReally 7:37 if this is the guy responsible for Gannett websites, he should be paying US 4 million for the pain, suffering and frustration we go through when going on these sites.
ReplyDeleteThat is some curious contract timing. When did he go on the Gannett payroll?
ReplyDeleteI got laid off so this $#!% could get $4 million, and for what? He has only made our digital world worse -- a LOT worse. Who gives a crap if he doesn't take shit off anyone? His ideas, and the applications thereof, suck.
ReplyDeleteChris is a smart guy. He has done well before as an entrepreneur, an operator of high growth businesses and as an investor in many start ups. Many people on this blog do not celebrate success, but rather try and put people down.
ReplyDeleteYou have rarely seen anyone in the executive ranks that takes as much risk as he has taken. Interestingly, it would seem that he is taking quite a risk just being at Gannett.
I hope he does well as the earlier poster mentions. He seems like the only one in the Crystal Palace that is tied to some performance.
Good luck Chris!
What risk is he taking by being at Gannett? I don't get it.
ReplyDelete5:13 whether he takes shit, and doesn't back down is meaningless. The proof is in the bottom line, and he couldn't produce it for Doubleclick so he was gone, and he didn't produce it for Ripple6 which is a really stale technology others shunned before GCI bought into this b.s. He's smart enough to con the powers that be to make him a v.p., but as I said, where is the beef? I think everything this guy spews out is pure garbage and little more than meaningless verbiage meant to impress an older generation unfamiliar with how the Internet works.
ReplyDeleteBingo, 10:59. Well said.
ReplyDeleteI do not know Saridakis, so I am writing about people in his position in general, rather than about him in particular.
ReplyDeleteIt's entirely appropriate to reward executives at his level with bonus plans like this: They pay for performance, and under those circumstances, everyone ones.
Also, I don't accept the idea that anyone talented would have left Gannett long ago. In other words, there are smart, capable people who love newspapers, and will sacrifice money in return for a chance to help preserve journalism.
I have two concerns about Saridakis:
1. He has no past journalism credentials, so I can't be sure of his motives within Gannett.
2. He does not appear to hold an engineering degree, which should be a requirement to be chief digital officer. Instead, his Linked In profile says, Saridakis holds an undergrad degree in economics from Aldelphi University, and a graduate business degree from Fordham University in info systems.
All:
ReplyDeleteI have known Chris personally for several years. He is not a bad guy but it is true - he is reactionary, shoots the messenger and is an emporer with no clothes. He does consistently contradict himself and relies on spin to make anything happen. He' a salesman, so be it.
Chris is a great visionary and has already produced for G while at Pointroll. I wouldn't begrudge the compensation package if he helps the company.
Chris tends to check out early from his endeavors. It would not surprise me if he has checked out already. Gannett hardly seems like a company looking for real change.
Jim -
Your reservations about his journalistic credentials is bunk. One thing matters - and only one thing in business - money. Gannett is not some sacrisanct bastion of superior journalism. The whole business is predicated on making money, not journalistic excellence. Unfortunately, those days are long past and have been for some time.
So, lower your shield and quit marching against Gannett. It is not what you seem to think it should be and never will be. The company is a media company with a duty only to its advertisers. Journalists are just fillers and a necessary evil.
Cheers!
12:14 pm: Although you write that "the whole business is predicated on making money, not journalistic excellence,'' it is worth noting that the New York Times Co. just surpassed Gannett in total market capitalization.
ReplyDeleteThe NYT is known as a leader in journalistic excellence. Could you please explain its surge on Wall Street?
I would think that a journalism background would be the only assurance that the person in this position would remain "nimble" enough to succeed, but that's just my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI do know Chris and have worked with him at one of his ventures. He is clearly a great visionary and has done quite a bit to grow many successful businesses.
ReplyDeleteAs a manager, he is tough to work for, but I leaned an incredible amount from him and have personally done well being part of his team.
I can't imagine he fits into the Gannett culture as he is not a political player nor is he a "journalist".
Jim,
Your statement that someone with his title requires an "engineering" degree is like me saying you need to know how to manufacture pens, prior to becoming a journalist.
We would glady have Chris back at Pointroll if Gannett doesn't want him there! Knowing him, I doubt he will stick around at Gannett. He can write his ticket to anywhere.
ReplyDeleteFor what it is worth, my sister is a Partner at a top tier executive recruitment firm and she told me that Saridakis is in high demand and her firm alone places monthly calls to him about CEO job opportunities.
ReplyDeleteGot to stop with SUCKDIKLIS, $4mm over four years if he bring in the bacon, who cares if he makes that money. He would be the only exec at Gannett who earned his money.
ReplyDeleteDon't know him but, if he is as smart as everyones is saying, he will figure out how to cash a good check and roll onto his next venture well before 4 years.
If he is as described (non-politician) THe lame ass execs at Gannett will pay him to go away and stop making the look so bad.
NB
NB...Amen!
ReplyDeleteI hope this guy kicks ass in his job. I especially want him to kick the asses of his peers in the Crystal Palace.
"It's entirely appropriate to reward executives at his level with bonus plans like this: They pay for performance, and under those circumstances, everyone ones."
ReplyDeleteCan someone explain to me, someone with a non-business background, why it's "entirely appropriate" to pay executives at a certain "level" big bucks if they do their job, and not the line workers or grunts?
The high-level executives already are making big bucks, far more than any of us who actually produce anything. That should be reward enough. Shouldn't it?
Jim,
ReplyDeleteYour concern over Saridakis lack of journalism experience highlights your own inexperience with the digital world. Gannett's problem from the start was journalists making online decisions. They tried translating the newspaper straight to the web. It does not work that way. It set the company back years.
10:50 pm: I'm way more concerned that Saridakis doesn't have an engineering degree. If not the Chief Digital Officer, than who else? Shouldn't at least one person on the Gannett Management Committee be a technologist?
ReplyDeleteJim,
ReplyDeleteIn McLean,
Gannett has managgers who can't manage.
Advertising Executive (Leslie G-String) who can't sell.
Accountants who can not count.
HR people who don't know or cars about people.
Circulation people who can't read a map.
News people who don't know what people want to read.
Why should the top tech guy be a tech guy???????