Executive Compensation Reform White Paper Issued by Pillsbury

Executive Compensation Reform White Paper Issued by Pillsbury

Private Equity Professional Digest
Executive Compensation Reform White Paper Issued by Pillsbury >
September 18, 2009 >

National law firm Pillsbury today issued a White Paper titled "Executive Pay Reform Poses Complex Risks for Compensation Committees," which explores issues facing compensation committees under the proposed Corporate and Financial Institutional Fairness Act of 2009 and other reforms. A link to a free copy of the white paper is available at the end of this article. >

"Earlier this week, a judge rejected the settlement made between the SEC and Bank of America to pay Merrill Lynch executives $33 million in bonuses, ruling it was unfair to stockholders," said White Paper author Scott Landau, a New York executive compensation partner at Pillsbury and former head of Bristol-Myers Squibb's domestic and international Employee Benefits and Compensation Legal Group. "So even though the Senate hasn't yet voted to pass the Act, there is no doubt new federal regulations on how salaries, bonuses and perks paid to senior executives at public companies are determined and awarded are coming and coming soon. The onus for overseeing the compliance and implementation of these new rules will fall on Compensation Committees, which is why we wrote this White Paper specifically for that audience, so Committee members can start working now to improve their procedures and the tools they have at their disposal." >

Pillsbury's White Paper, co-written with associates Bradley Benedict and Kathleen Bardunias, offers a look at the complex governance and compensation matters that Compensations Committees must begin to grapple with, such as: >

- 1. Equity-based compensation policies and practices including share ownership and retention guidelines; selecting equity-based awards; stock options issues; and incentive-based compensation. >

- 2. Employment and severance agreements issues including clawbacks; defining contract terms; the role of perquisites; and non-competition, non-disclosure, non-solicitation covenants. >

"The principles driving compensation reform primarily focus on three main ideas: that executive compensation should be tied to company performance; executive interests should be aligned with those of the corporation and its shareholders; and executives should not be incentivized for taking unreasonable and imprudent risks," Landau said. "In addition, the process of establishing executive compensation programs should be transparent, protect against bias and provide for enhanced accountability."

Click HERE to download a free copy of "Executive Pay Reform Poses Complex Risks for Compensation Committees".

See original Post: http://www.pepdigest.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2869:executive-compensation-reform-white-paper-issued-by-pillsbury-&catid=34:news-to-know&Itemid=24

Directly access Pillsbury white paper: http://www.pillsburylaw.com/siteFiles/Publications/288044D2209E1F15404AFB5A367C6A00.pdf

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http://dreamlearndobecome.blogspot.com This posting was made my Jim Jacobs, President & CEO of Jacobs Executive Advisors. Jim also serves as Leader of Jacobs Advisors' Insurance Practice.