Spanning 15 years, that list (left) shows the dates when Corporate released the annual shareholder's proxy report -- the much-anticipated document showing salary, plus bonuses and other goodies for the five highest-paid company executives.If Corporate's still eating bran with its Kool-Aid, we should see the next one around March 13 -- two weeks from tomorrow. I say that because Gannett has been very, very regular in distributing proxy materials around mid-March of each year, all the way back to 1994, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission records show. (Last year's report was released March 13.)
Whatever the date, these four executives almost certainly will be in this year's big-bucks line-up:
1. Craig Dubow, Chairman and CEO
2. Gracia Martore, Chief Financial Officer
3. Bob Dickey, president of the newspaper division
4. Paul Davidson, chairman and CEO of the U.K. Newsquest unit
No. 5 will probably be USA Today Publisher Craig Moon again. The only surprise would be if Chief Digital Officer Chris Saridakis engineered some sort of first-year package with an extra bonus. Or, if Dickey's predecessor, Sue Clark-Johnson, also triggered a one-time windfall when she retired last year.
Related: Last year's list of the five highest-paid executives. Note: Dubow already agreed to a 17% base pay cut; other officers agreed to wage freezes through this year.
What sort of bonuses will they get for 2008 -- a year when Gannett's stock lost nearly 80% of its value? Stay tuned over the next few weeks. Please post your replies in the comments section, below. E-mail confidentially via gannettblog[at]gmail[dot-com].
s/b going back 15 years .
ReplyDeleteJim:
ReplyDeleteYou should have a countdown box on your main page noting the number of days left before the proxy.
You can be sure that these guys will get "theirs." 17% pay cut will be easier to swallow with a $1 million bonus. Down from last year, but still plenty to be able to add on to the house in N.C. or fire up another fake endowment in exchange for football tickets in Austin.
No shame. None.
It's time for him to leave, but he's got 'em. The $36 million exit package notwithstanding.
those numbers do not add up - the total compensation is much higher than the salary and bonus listed. are the value of perks and benefits included? stock (but it fell?)
ReplyDeletejust trying to follow the money - and I don't see the addition working out,
please advise.
Sorry about that, 9:28. That is actually an edited version of the full table. I will fix later. Meanwhile, please follow the "bigger view" link for the complete table.
ReplyDeleteIt has been years since I was in corporate, but I do remember the finance, legal and hr people going through hoops on the proxy starting in January. It's a very long process. Given rules and regs I imagine much harder now with all the disclosing rules and such.
ReplyDeleteBut I think the date, like the day of the board meetings, is a constant. These are dates put on the calendar a year in advance. I think that's so board members can coordinate calendars, etc.
So imagine it's no great secret when proxy comes out. Probably on or about March 15 like past practice shows. It has to be out well before shareholder meeting my law.
to be fair, jim, aren't year-old numbers that include stock wrong now? the stock slide hits everybody, and the 7.5 mill number just can't be the current value if it include stock, options, etc.
ReplyDeleteI bet they have actually gotten only pennies on the dollar. I can't imagine they have actually made anything on stock options, for instance, because they can't discount them at lower prices. I would imagine their real pay was half of what the proxy said they got or less.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to see Craig Moon received a 7% raise at USAT, while the people doing the work cannot get anything past 3%.
ReplyDeleteIt will be curious to see if he received another bump for this year or if he stayed with the rank and file.
The Top Executives pretty much have stock that is worthless and options that are so far under water.
ReplyDeleteHis base salary would pay mine for 50 years.
ReplyDeleteSuppose all my friends he laid off fueled that fine bonus.
Raise? I believe if what I heard on the call was right, that no member of the management team received a raise, nor have many executives for several years. Way to read things correctly.
ReplyDelete