Advertisement

Their Just Rewards?

Maryland Ceo Compensation

Debate Swirls As Most Of The Area's 10 Top-earning Ceos Receive Higher Compensation During A Recession That Has Dragged Down Many Companies' Stock Prices And Profits

August 09, 2009|By Jamie Smith Hopkins , jamie.smith.hopkins@baltsun.com

T. Rowe Price, which unlike fellow money manager Legg Mason did not lose money last year, gave CEO James A.C. Kennedy $5.6 million in total compensation. That's a 28 percent drop from the year before, about the same amount that the company's net income fell. Kennedy's cash-only pay decreased even more, by 31 percent, though like Legg's CEO, he did receive incentives.

"Last year was one of the worst ever in the financial markets, and clients lost money on our watch," said Edward Giltenan, a spokesman for T. Rowe Price, which saw its stock price fall 42 percent. "And we take that very seriously. As always, we remain focused on providing good results for our clients over the long haul, and on that score, nearly 80 percent of our funds have outperformed their peer averages over the last decade."

One executive dropped off the million-plus compensation list last year because he took a pay haircut - a good bit of it voluntarily. Under Armour Inc. CEO Kevin A. Plank received no incentive pay in a year when profits fell 27 percent and the stock price dropped almost by half. But his compensation plummeted from $1.5 million to $30,002 last year because he also cut his own base salary. "As our largest stockholder, he believes he should be compensated for his services based primarily on our company's performance," Under Armour told shareholders in its proxy statement.

Advertisement

Some companies did well last year, despite it all. Their CEOs did well, too.

TeleCommunication Systems Inc., an Annapolis provider of wireless data services, went from a loss to a $57 million profit last year. Its stock price more than doubled, and so did chief executive Maurice B. Tos?'s compensation - to $4.3 million from $1.6 million.

Columbia-based MICROS Systems Inc., which makes point-of-sale computer systems for restaurants and other businesses, also gained in stock price and profit in its fiscal year, which ended in June 2008. But CEO A.L. "Tom" Giannopoulos still hastened to explain that his 81 percent increase in compensation - which moved him to No. 3 on the pay list - isn't all it appears.

He said he didn't get any stock options in the company's 2007 fiscal year because he wanted them handed out to other employees. The options he accepted in the 2008 fiscal year added up to a large chunk of his $6.9 million compensation.

"Today, of course," Giannopoulos said, "they are worth nothing."

Baltimore Sun reporters Eileen Ambrose, Hanah Cho, Edward Gunts, Jay Hancock, Lorraine Mirabella, Gus G. Sentementes and Andrea K. Walker contributed to this article.

Baltimore Sun Articles
|