Corporate just disclosed that it awarded newly named Chief Digital Officer David Payne two sizable stock awards substantially the same as those given to Maryam Banikarim, the new chief marketing officer. This week, both executives were made senior vice presidents and added to the Gannett Management Committee, the 13-member group that runs GCI's overall operations.
Payne got 25,000 shares of so-called restricted stock -- RSUs, for short. And he got 50,000 stock options, according to this filing today with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
But Payne's options carry a lower "strike price" compared to Banikarim's. That's the maximum the executives must pay the company for their 50,000 shares, no matter how much more they're worth on the open market.
Payne's options have a $14.87 strike price -- Gannett's closing price the day his appointment was announced. In contrast, Banikarim's are at $15.41 a share, the closing price Monday, when her appointment was announced, this SEC filing says.
Oh, what a difference two days make! The 54-cent spread makes his 50,000 options $27,000 cheaper.
GCI closed this afternoon at $15.24, rising 1.5% in a market that was up overall.
What are RSUs?
They give recipients the right to receive shares at a later date, a form of deferred compensation meant to both encourage executives to stay at a company while also working to boost a stock's market price.
Like Banikarim, Payne can claim his shares Dec. 10, 2014. How much are they worth? If, for example, GCI is trading that December date for the same price as today's close -- $15.24 -- his 25,000 shares would be worth $381,000.
Jim,
ReplyDeleteDo you remember Saridakis also had some Long Term Incentive Plan that Gannett would not reveal how much it was for? Someone very close to "it" told me it was in excess of $16 million dollars in addition to his base, bonus, options and RSU's. The LTIP was based on performance metrics with about half of it guaranteed if he stayed for four years regardless of performance.
Does Payne and Banikarim have these LtIP's too?
Also, no wonder why it took so long to find a Saridakis replacement, they are paying these new executives practically nothing compared to the market. Payne and Banikarim are desperate corporate managers that need jobs.
Let's call a "spade" a "spade"! These two recent GMC hires are corporate executives that have both been laid off from the most recent jobs. Neither of them have ever built anything to make them independently wealthy, so here they are employed by Gannett collecting a pay check.
ReplyDeleteThey are not innovators or disrupters, they are just Gannett employees showing up 9-5 each day. Don't expect much people, these two will fall perfectly inline with Gracia Martore's micro-managing of their business.
So, I would submit that if any of these executives were so great, they would not accept a few thousand RSU's and a paltry amount of stock options in comparison to what the rest of these GMC members have received lately. If they were so successful, they would have millions of dollars worth of stock!
And on top of that, the Saridakis The Magnificent cult members have run out of excuses. Now they claim he was blocked from doing what he wanted ,,, which only confirms he actually didn't make useful changes. The cult can't have it both ways.
ReplyDeleteOh the Lemming Trolls are out in force. If they make too much you whine like 5 year old bits that dropped their ice cream cones, if they don't make millions you say they are losers. I think it's pretty clear who the losers are. Did you score your tickets to Charlie Sheen's road show?
ReplyDeleteMartore's hiring of Payne and Banikarim are similar to David L. Hunke's hiring patterns. Find executives whohave recently gotten the boot from their companies and hire them on for appearance sake. Just take a look USA Today's Lee Jones, Jeff Wilkes, Heather Frank and Thomas Beusse. All high priced execs who got the boot from their companies and are now coasting their way.
ReplyDeleteSometimes the unsubstantiated comments I read here are troubling. Give me something that supports the claim that Banikarim was fired from NBC Universal? As for salaries of the CMO and CDO, these two will make more money in one year than most of us make in 10. Before we flush both down the toilet why not wait to see what they deliver and why not also hope that's exactly what they do?
ReplyDeleteSorry, I'm not a corporate troll just more like a native from the 'show me' state of Missouri, and that goes for Banikarim, Payne and the writers on this blog.
I would personally like to invite Mr. Payne and Ms. Banikarim to openly comment on this forum. Certainly you visit this site a great deal, as everyone in Gannett does. It would be nice to hear what the new, fresh faces feel is happening. Think about the respect you'd get from the masses if you freely answered questions candidly. If you folks represent the new direction this company is going, why not start out by interfacing with the rank and file?
ReplyDelete11:03 I agree with you. No one's cited any evidence that either of these two was fired. They simply may have seen a particular opportunity in Gannett that they didn't see elsewhere.
ReplyDelete1:39: Both got out of their previous jobs because their positions had become precarious.
ReplyDeleteAfter the Comcast takeover, it is clear there is going to be a wholesale clearout of executive ranks at NBC and Banikarim likely saw herself on the list. Payne was in similar straits as his company wasn't going anywhere. In this situation, I think both could have been bought much cheaper.
Also, I read these postings from people who place such high expectations in these people. Why? Should we really expect anything different from newcomers than the the bumbling and totally inept leadership we have already seen?
Saridakis complained he was suffocated by the decision process he found at the Crystal Palace and if that is true, what makes anyone believe there have been any changes that will make it easier for Banikarim or Payne to do what they want to do?
7:42 I salute you. The ONLY thing Saridakis ever dud was write a good bye letter, oh and take millions out of Gannett that actually resulted in the furloughs of his admirers by the way!
ReplyDeleteMartore will only hire those who will not challenge her. Hunke got the USA Today job only because he will follow directions, not think independently. Anyone who wants to be more than a pawn will not stick around. Most existing execs are taking their lashes hoping to out live her tenure, retaining their retirements. Also, they are unable to find similar roles in a declining industry. Some believe Saridakis left because Craig reneged on a promise when he promoted Martore. Saridakis then left because he could. Gannett would be in a better place if Craig had stayed the course. The future is not in restructuring debt. The future is in being a visionary and leading in a way that that motivates staff. Martore leads with spreadsheets, fear, and sarcasm. Only the Board can save us now.
ReplyDeleteMartore is going nowhere, 7:08, and has the Board on her back. The Board will not save this company.
ReplyDeleteANONYMOUS SAID... GANNETT COMPANY HAS BEEN WEIGHT AND THE BALANCE AND FOUND WANTING.THE GOOD OLDS ARE OVER.
ReplyDeleteThis board is useless. It should have sent a message to dubow three years ago. Instead we get b.s from senior management and no clear plan for getting better.I hope both new hires can put up with dysfunctional senior managers long enough to boost ad revenue. Otherwise, it'll be same old same old.
ReplyDeleteAt least donna shalalamala ding dong and karen cashthepaycheck Williams are gone. Good riddance.
ReplyDeleteAll I know is Saradakis has hundreds of millions of dollars and he DID NOT earn all that at Gannett. He must have done something right along the way.
ReplyDelete10:39 he may have indeed but he didn't DO anything at Gannett in fact the Digital staff hardly ever saw him. You are worshiping a diety with clay feet. All he ever did that inspired the LTs was write a letter. That's it. Sometimes the truth hurts.
ReplyDeleteI would take Saridakis over anyone of these GMC members anytime. He should have been the CEO of Gannett. Remember, they were desperately pursuing him after his earn out ended at Pointroll in December 2007 (I recall Dubow received a big bonus for retaining him and bringing him on into Gannett in 2008). I heard they sold him a bill of goods and he realized shortly into the CDO gig that Dubow wasn't going to deliver the autonomy he promised and Martore was a micro-manager.
ReplyDeleteNot many people know that Saridakis tried to leave less than one year into the CDO job (by early 2009), but they asked him to stay on because it would not look good if Saridakis was to leave prior to Mr. Dubow taking an extended medical leave. Saridakis then agreed to stay on through 2009. It was no surprise he was leaving early 2010.
He had this Gannett executive team figured out from the onset. I think he was looking for the right time to escape from Gannett without making them look bad.
As mentioned on this blog many times, with his extreme wealth, he doesn't need to be here and yet he was relegated to cleaning up Jack Williams mess as CDO.
6:33 once again WHAT did he do, what did he try to do, what did he have a dream about doing, what did he say to a colleague in the elevator on one of his few visits to the CP? Please one thing, throw me a bone! He wrote an FU letter I get it. What else?
ReplyDelete""As mentioned on this blog many times, with his extreme wealth, he doesn't need to be here and yet he was relegated to cleaning up Jack Williams mess as CDO. ""
ReplyDeleteMentioned by you many times? Saridakis himself?
8:07 Again, I repeat: Pointroll and Ripple 6.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have insight into what Jack Williams and Craig Moon are working up? Williams and Moon have been seen around Mclean with some frequency. Is this a signal Moon will be returning to replace Saridakis who he brought in?
ReplyDeleteMoon returns to Corporate only over Dubow's dead body.
ReplyDelete10:58 you can't be serious! He ripped Gannett off by selling Ripple 6 to the company. He came to Gannett when it bought Point Roll. So I repeat WHAT did he do at Gannett after he became CDO? Let me save you some time....Nada until he wrote a FU letter!
ReplyDeleteWith personal money in Ripple6, Sardakis could not have participated in the decision to purchase. I think 11g was behind it as a disruptive innovation and Digital was stuck with it.
ReplyDeleteWhy are they doling out all this money upfront before we can see what these new hires are going to produce? These awards should be given AFTER they produce new streams of revenue, not before. What is the incentive now for them to produce? I only get paid after I have completed my work, so why is it so different for execs at the Crystal Towers?
ReplyDeleteSaridakis' first big program was to overhaul an extremely outdated ad serving platform. He lobbied for DFP (DoubleClick's Dart for Publishers), the undeniable standard for the online publshing industry. Instead, the GMC nickel-and-dimed him to choose Adtech, AOL's ad serving technology - at best a 3rd rate solution. Raise your hand if you trust any innovation from AOL in this space. Saridakis also advocated for a centrally managed display inventory policy for all of the properties because that had the strongest revenue potential with the most streamlined operations. Again the GMC blocked the move, despite the fact that individaul Web sites don't have the resources, financial objective or frankly desire to improve online display sales. When he became CDO, there were over 400 million unsold online display ad impressions per month across GCI. He tried to put in the processes to realize up to $50 million in new revenue annually, literally left on the table. The geniuses on the GMC felt these moves weren't warranted. Mr. Payne will experience the same head-in-the-sand support.
ReplyDelete