GM CEO's Pay Jumps As Sales, Net Soar -- WSJ
April 23 2016 - 03:03AM
Dow Jones News
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)
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