- a Medicare supplement and reimbursement for the cost of Medicare Part B coverage, beginning at age 65 and continuing for life
- legal and financial counseling services on the same basis as available to an active executive at the time his employment terminates, for three years after his employment terminates, at an estimated incremental cost to the company of $25,000 annually
- use of company aircraft for three years after his employment terminates, at times not inconveniencing the company, the cost of which would be reimbursed by Dubow at the company’s then-effective incremental hourly rate
- ownership of existing home office equipment would be transferred to Dubow
- home computer assistance, for three years after his employment terminates
- use of an office, secretarial assistance and access to company facilities at no charge for three years after his employment terminates
- access, for three years after his employment terminates, to one country club selected by Dubow of which the company is a member at the time of his retirement and to which Dubow had access during the time of his employment, the cost of which would be reimbursed by Dubow.
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In other words, Gannett would "pay" Dubow more per year NOT to work for them than they pay probably 80% of their employees TO work.
ReplyDeleteThis is the kind of injustice GCI journalists used to go digging for to find; now they don't need to look further than their own Proxy Report!
Ahhhh. Certainly explains the new beard and casual-Friday look. He's ready to leave, and probably laughing. I just wonder what he tells his kids and grandkids (if he has them). Personally, I couldn't sleep at night and I certainly couldn't face my kids if I had been rewarded for adding to the unemployment problems facing this country.
ReplyDeleteThere's that damn county club membership again. What is it with these execs and their golf clubs? Doesn't anyone in the Crystal Palace know that McLean is within driving distance of Annapolis, one of the great yachting capitals of the world? But all they think about is country clubs.
ReplyDeleteFrom Romenesko:
ReplyDeleteDubow would get $19.3 million to leave.
Some companies put together pay packages designed to keep top executives around until they retire. At newspaper chain Gannett (GCI), it’s almost like the board can’t wait for them to find the exit.
Proxies these days lay out just what companies will have to shell out in various circumstances when executives depart — everything from retirement to termination “for cause” (eg, felony conviction). The result: sprawling tables with multiple headings covering nearly every eventuality.
But you don’t often find big numbers in the column labeled “Potential Payment Obligation Upon Retirement/Voluntary Termination.” At Gannett, however, simply walking out the door would bring Chairman and CEO Craig A. Dubow a cool $19.3 million, as of Dec. 31. In last year’s proxy that number was a much more modest — if you can call this modest — $7.5 million for Dubow.
To be fair, nearly half of that ($9.5 million) is his pension. But much of the rest comes courtesy of a feature triggered just this year: All stock options and restricted-stock units granted since mid-2005 vest and become his the day he walks out the door for the last time, as long as he isn’t fired for “good cause” (specifics include misappropriation of funds, persistent neglect of duties or a felony conviction). His options then remain exercisable for as long as four years. The value of those options was listed at $5.9 million, compared to zero in the 2009 proxy.
Gracia C. Martore, Gannett’s president, COO and CFO, gets a similar deal, with equity grants since early 2005 vesting on departure and options remaining exercisable for as long as three years. Her take: $10 million.
Both executives also get some nice perks in retirement: legal and financial counseling, up to $25,000 a year in medical coverage for the executive and their family and $75,000 over five years to charities of their choice. On top of that, Dubow gets lifetime Medigap coverage once he hits 65, three years on the company airplane (albeit at his own expense), title to his home-office equipment, and an outside office and secretarial assistance for three years. He even gets three years’ of “home computer assistance” — presumably calling the Geek Squad when the laptop doesn’t boot up properly. Altogether, the company values Dubow’s perks at more than $90,000, Martore’s run about half as much in the first year.
Sure, getting fired, at least after a change in control, would be more remunerative: $39 million if Dubow is fired within two years of a deal — or if he quits during a special 30-day window at the one-year anniversary. Dying would be more lucrative, too, at $31 million. Still, we’re sure execs don’t see much incentive there.
But millions just to hit the links for executives who haven’t exactly been careful stewards of shareholder assets and have basically managed earnings through massive job cuts seems like a very poorly designed reward.
Oh crap, that's the first Mrs. Dubow heard about the death benefit.
ReplyDeleteHoney, would you try this new cocktail I made up for you? :)
In answer to your other question, most of the IT people I have worked with - at my site, other sites, or corporate - have been great. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteIs this relevant?
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's pretty much what they gave me when they laid me off.
ReplyDelete