By Gautham Nagesh 

General Motors Co. Chief Executive Mary Barra was awarded $28.6 million in total compensation in 2015, a 77% increase coming as the company notched record sales and profits on strong demand for light trucks.

The package, disclosed Friday in a regulatory filing, came in the second year that GM wasn't bound by Treasury Department pay guidelines that were installed as part of the company's 2009 taxpayer-funded bankruptcy. Ms. Barra, taking the helm in early 2014, earned 16.2 million in a choppy first year in charge, and last year's increase was largely due to one-time equity grants.

Ms. Barra beat out a handful of other executives for GM's top job and is often credited with successfully steering the company through an ignition switch recall that emerged in her first days as the company's first female chief. While the company paid billions of dollars in fines and various settlements to clear up the crisis, the situation is largely in GM's rearview mirror.

Tim Solso, the company's chairman for a short time, relinquished that role to Ms. Barra in January, and he is now lead independent director. Stephen Girsky, a former executive once in the running for the CEO job, is leaving the board in June after seven years of service and a new director is being nominated in his place.

GM reported a record first-quarter profit Thursday, with net earnings nearly doubling to $2 billion for the three-month period and Ms. Barra forecasting improved results over the remainder of the year. Enjoying better results amid brisk demand for trucks and SUVs, the company is using excess cash to repurchase shares and invest in future technologies.

Still, Ms. Barra's management team faces challenges. Cadillac, the company's iconic luxury brand, is far behind German luxury rivals, and market share fell in the U.S. and China over the first quarter, for instance.

GM, like some of its rivals, faces skepticism from Wall Street as U.S. auto sales growth slows. The company's stock price, trading above $36 when Ms. Barra was promoted and at $33 when the company filed an initial public offering in 2010, is in neutral. Shares exchanged hands Friday afternoon at $32.23, down 1.3% from the prior session.

Because the company no longer is under Treasury Department compensation guidelines, GM can use the promise of richer paydays as incentive to keep top-performing executives and recruit new talent. Ms. Barra's 2015 pay included a $11.2 million stock-option award with a $31.32 strike price -- a one-time retention grant representing 40% of her total package.

Ms. Barra's base salary was $1.75 million, up from $1.58 million the year prior. She received a cash bonus of $3 million, up from $2.1 million in 2014, and almost $600,000 in other compensation including personal air travel, company vehicles and security. Salary, bonus and equity grants that have vested represented $7.3 million in 2015.

The bulk of Ms. Barra's compensation came in the form of stock awards, including $3 million in restricted stock units and $9 million in units tied to the company's performance and stock value.

Dan Ammann, Ms. Barra's top lieutenant and president, earned $11.8 million; Mark Reuss, heading product development, earned $10.2 million; and Chief Financial Officer Chuck Stevens earned $8.1 million. They were also paid primarily in the form of equity grants.

Write to Gautham Nagesh at gautham.nagesh@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 23, 2016 02:48 ET (06:48 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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