DolmatConnell & Partners 2008 Studies of CEO and CFO Compensation in the 100 Largest High Technology and Life Science Companies Show Dramatically Improving Link Between Pay and P...(ion Committees are responding to shareho...)

In the Tech100, median target bonuses for the Top 20 performing companies were 120% of base salary and actual bonus payouts were 139% of target ($1.4M), whereas in the Bottom 20 companies, median target bonuses were 150% of base salary, and actual bonus payouts were only 19% of target ($225K). Bonus payouts in the LifeScience100 followed similar trends. Says Jack Dolmat- Connell, CEO of DolmatConnell & Partners, "It is great to see that Boards are finally getting tough relative to the pay of underperforming CEOs. This is what has infuriated investors for years -- high pay for mediocre or poor results."

Most studies of executive compensation look at the aggregate value of base salary, actual bonus and the annual long-term incentive grant values in a given year, also known as "pay opportunity" for a given year. In addition to this, the DolmatConnell & Partners' studies looked at the value of compensation "realized" in a given year -- what executives actually took home. The results of this new look are stunning -- CEOs at Top 20 companies in the Tech100 realized $9.0M in 2007, whereas CEOs at Bottom 20 companies realized only $3.4M, a very significant difference in compensation based on performance. Unrealized compensation (the value of equity still outstanding) differences were even more dramatic -- CEOs of Top 20 companies held equity worth $45.0M, while the equity outstanding of the CEOs of the Bottom 20 was worth only $8.1M. Says Dolmat-Connell, "This is incredibly positive news based on a completely new and better way of looking at executive pay. It is also fascinating to note that the vast majority of the value of the equity held by CEOs in the Top 20 was in the form of stock options, an investor- friendly long-term incentive vehic
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