That $36.3 million is what stockholders would potentially pay CEO Craig Dubow -- if he, along with other top brass, get canned within two years of a "change in control," according to the last shareholders proxy, filed March 13 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (Detail of Dubow portion, above; full table showing all payouts, below.) The relevant section starts on page 40.The document defines a change in control as:
- an investor's buying 20% or more of the company's stock
- a shift in the board of directors, where the incumbent members are forced out of a majority
- a sale or merger of the company
- Gannett's complete liquidation or dissolution
Earlier: Retired Chairman and CEO Doug McCorkindale's super-sweet retirement package. (Hint: He and his spouse don't pay a dime for their health insurance.)Please post your thoughts in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write gannettblog[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green sidebar, upper right.
[Credits: Gannett Blog readers for helping with my original research; SEC Forms 14A, March 13, 2008; Eats, 'chutes & heaves?]
I've been a business journalist more than 23 years. Sadly, it appears things are now going just as they always do in the end.
ReplyDeleteAnd how do things go always at the end, Jim?
ReplyDeleteThere is an out you don't outline here, and that is dismissal for incompetence which I do not believe would trigger the compensation figures you cite. I am looking for the clause in the contract which says he can be removed for cause, which would not trigger these punitive results. The cause: Dubow's regime has seen the total collapse of the stock, the ruination of the corporation, and a sharp decline in revenues all due to Dubow's misallocation of funds and lousy business plan. They could fire him for incompetence, then let him fight it out through the courts for any compensation.
Is that $13.9 million pension funded? I just read a report that said the executive pension program was unfunded.
ReplyDeleteIf pensions aren't funded, where does the money come from to meet the obligation?
ReplyDeleteWhat if there is no change in control? If the current board turned on Dubow could they oust him without the parachute?
ReplyDeleteNot that it will happen, but it seems like they've given the man a pretty good shake considering what's happened under his watch.
What a f***ing outrage. I love newspapers and believe in their importance but I'd rather see the company fold than pay this obscene amount to this loser.
ReplyDeleteThe board could demote him. Put someone else in charge. continue to provide him an office. His annual wage is less than the exit compensation. He could sit there, irrelevant, until retirement or he could quit, of which there is no parachute. I would love to see him lose his power and have to watch others get accolades for reversing his folly.
ReplyDelete