Gannett's most senior executives have been awarded nearly 300,000 shares of company stock worth more than $5 million as part of their annual compensation, according to newly filed regulatory documents.
CEO Gracia Martore got the most: 53,872, worth nearly $1 million at today's closing price. This spreadsheet shows the awards to all 13 of the executives, with links to the original SEC documents for each one.
These are so-called restricted shares, which the 13 executives won't be able to take possession of for another four years -- Dec. 31, 2016, according to this afternoon's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
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| Martore |
The document for Martore also shows that she gave another 30,460 shares of company stock to a family trust, for estate planning purposes. That transaction took place a week ago, Dec. 28, and followed an earlier gift of 75,000, also to a family trust.
Historically, awards of restricted stock and stock options accounted for a large share of annual compensation, which also includes salaries and bonuses paid in cash.
But starting in 2012, the board of directors eliminated options in favor of conventional restricted stock and new "performance shares" tied to the returns stockholders in other similar companies have received.
But starting in 2012, the board of directors eliminated options in favor of conventional restricted stock and new "performance shares" tied to the returns stockholders in other similar companies have received.
Warning: big $$$ ahead
That change had a dramatic impact on amounts paid to the top brass in 2011, reducing their compensation significantly. It effectively pushed millions of dollars in compensation into 2012, Corporate said in the annual proxy report to shareholders last spring.
That change had a dramatic impact on amounts paid to the top brass in 2011, reducing their compensation significantly. It effectively pushed millions of dollars in compensation into 2012, Corporate said in the annual proxy report to shareholders last spring.
For example, Martore got $4.7 million in 2011 vs. $8.2 million the year before.
Corporate will disclose how much Martore's team was paid in 2012 when the next proxy report is published, probably in March. The board has already put shareholders on notice that 2012's pay will be "significantly higher" than in the preceding year.
awesome. great for her. Can't wait for my bonus and big raise.
ReplyDeleteOh, wait. never mind.
We get 1 percent raises, if any, and we don't get bonuses, but we DO get to do furloughs to help pay for her bonus! Yesssss. Fantastic.
Talk about shared suffering! Poor Gracia gets only $4.7 million. Awwwwwww, poor baby. We front line grunts have gotten no raise to a princely 1.5% and a host of new responsibilities to go with. I would do a dance around the building to get half of her compensation. And that boys and girls is an example of why the middle class is dying while the ranks of the upper and lower classes increase- over compensation at the top. It is nice to see some compensation tied to stock performance. Let's make it all merit based and get rid of the executive compensation committee, which is packed with friends of the execs.
ReplyDeleteHeh Professor stock closed at $18.84. Seems like her compensation is indeed reflective of the rise in value. You'd better take a finance class
DeleteThis company is awful. The valuable/dedicated employees get nothing but pay cuts and downsizing as the fat cats get rich.
ReplyDeleteJust WTF is Blue Balls Banikarim getting paid for? What a joke.
ReplyDelete$384,292 -- shocker, eh? Wonder if everyone under her gets proportionate bonuses?
DeleteOh, I forgot: At GCI, leadership is job #812.
It is true that with the change in the executive compensation program officers of the company now receive more restricted stock units. Those shares are different from options in that they do not require the executive to purchase them, only to stay a certain amount of time (4 years) to get the shares.
ReplyDeleteBut what those executives get instead of options - and on top of restricted shares - are something called TSRs. They are similar to RSUs in that the executive does not have to purchase them (unlike the old stock options). The executive gets a number of shares at the grant date, and then, three years later, can get more or less depending on the growth of the company stock price during that time period compared to other companies.
The top number of shares is 200% times the number of shares at the grant date. So, if the award was 5,000 shares in 2012, the executive could get 10,000 shares in 2015 if the stock price outperformed the other companies by a significant percentage.
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ReplyDeleteDamn Jim! This post is ok with you? WTF is wrong with you these days. It now appears to be all about page views for you as we'll. there is no place for a post like this. Shame on you
DeleteNo, that comment wasn't OK. Thanks for drawing it to my attention. I've now removed it.
DeleteWell that's all good then, it is good that some people are doing well in these troubled times......It makes all the pay freezes, furloughs and redundancies worthwhile....let's hope 2013 is financially better for the other 99% of employees.
ReplyDeleteHey, Gracua! Warm in HELL?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteAttention all national advertisers...Sears, Kmart, Pennys, walgreens, Best buy, Target...etc. I've worked in the newspaper industry for 35 years and you would fall over if you knew the truth about where your preprints end up.....In the trash.Check your ABC numbers...newspapers are lying to you and fraudulently charging you for product not delivered. Single copy is a scam...and doesn't represent actual paid copies. Especially Gannett.If you knew what I know...you would be asking for a big reimbursement for your printing costs, delivery and shipping costs.. You've been ripped off for years now.
ReplyDelete