Top Executives

First Mariner Bancorp Chairman and CEO Edwin F. Hale Sr. got a pay cut last year at a time when the Baltimore-based bank continued to struggle financially while operating under heightened regulatory supervision. According to a document filed Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Hale's pay package fell nearly $50,000 to $544,847. Other top executives also took pay cuts, including George H. Mantakos, president of 1st Mariner Bank, who saw his compensation drop more than $30,000 to $264,330.

Brian Rogers, manager of the T. Rowe Price Equity Income Fund in Baltimore, won't be voting the fund's shares in support of splitting the role of CEO and chairman at JPMorgan Chase & Co. Jamie Dimon has been CEO at JP Morgan since 2005 and became chairman a year later. "I fully support the combined Chairman and CEO role at JPMorgan under the superb leadership of Jamie Dimon," Rogers said in a statement. "He and his management team have created superior shareholder value after the company weathered the financial crisis so capably.

At a time of growing public pressure to cut the salaries of top executives when things are going bad, Westinghouse Electric Corp. has done just that.Westinghouse posted a $1.1 billion loss last year, and its top officers felt the pinch where it hurts most -- in their pocketbooks.The company's bad year cost Paul E. Lego, Westinghouse's chairman and chief executive, about $1.6 million last year, according to Edward Goff, the company's compensation director.Information in proxy materials being mailed to shareholders shows that Mr. Lego received a cash salary of $677,083 last year, down from the $1.68 million he was paid in 1990.

The top executives of T. Rowe Price Group Inc. saw their compensation rise last year, the Baltimore-based investment firm reported. CEO James A.C. Kennedy earned $8.4 million in total compensation last year, a 7 percent increase over 2011 and Brian C. Rogers, Price's chairman and chief investment officer, earned $8.3 million in total compensation, an 8 percent increase from 2011, the company reported in a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and...

Want to make big money? Land a top corporate job.Want to make really big money? Be dismissed from one.The evidence is irrefutable. J. P. Bolduc is ousted as chief executive of the W. R. Grace & Co. and gets a $20 million going-away present, $5 million more than his contract required.Joseph E. Antonini, forced out as Kmart's chief executive, walks with a $3 million severance package, even though the company performed poorly during his tenure.Robert J. Morgado, the former head of the Warner Music Group, will get between $50 million and $75 million for agreeing to a forced sayonara last month, according to a company executive.

With corporate scandals still fresh in the minds of a public that can be fascinated by the rich but resentful of their lifestyles, federal regulators proposed new rules yesterday to shine a brighter light on how top executives are compensated. Heralded as the most sweeping reform to executive compensation disclosure in 14 years, the Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed changes include requiring publicly traded companies to clearly disclose the total annual pay, including perquisites, for the chief executive officer, the chief financial officer and the next three members of top brass.

The directors of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maryland yesterday agreed to cancel annual bonuses to top executives this year, end its membership in an exclusive golf club and put the health insurer's premium sky box at Oriole Park at Camden Yards up for sale.The board also canceled the Blues' annual Preakness hospitality tent, saying the event, formerly defended as a marketing tool to draw new business, had now become "a liability instead of an asset for the company."Future bonuses for the executives as well as heads of Blues subsidiaries -- 28 executives in all -- will be tied to how well the company serves its 1.4 million subscribers, including the speed and accuracy of processing claims.

The Cosmetic Center Inc., the struggling Columbia-based discount cosmetics retailer, said last night that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and replaced two top executives, including its chief executive officer.In a statement released shortly before 7 p.m., the company said Betsy Burton, president and chief executive officer, and Dwight Crawley, the chief financial officer, have resigned.The new chief executive officer is Kevin Regan, described as a 23-year retail veteran who serves as a director with Pricewater-houseCoopers.

Top executives of Wal-Mart and other large employers would have to sign off personally on annual reports of how much their companies are spending on health insurance in Maryland under the provisions of a law enacted Thursday night by legislators over Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s veto. The state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation would have primary responsibility for administering the Fair Share Health Care Fund Act, which requires that large private employers spend at least 8 percent of their payroll (6 percent for nonprofits)

Baltimore-area hospital CEOs and presidents boast seven-figure salaries, club and gym memberships, and paid financial planning and tax services as part of compensation packages from their nonprofit employers. Nearly a dozen hospitals cover country club dues for top executives. Carroll Hospital, in reporting the compensation to the IRS, disclosed that it requires its chief executive officer to be a member of the exclusive local clubs "to facilitate hospital interaction with the community" and because of the "potential for donors.

When Bank of America credit officer Dan Petrik and his team sat down in early 2007 to analyze Sam Zell's plan to take control of Tribune Co., their numbers showed that the complex deal failed to meet five of the bank's 10 lending guidelines. There was too much borrowed money, too little collateral and the overall risk rating that BofA assigned to the transaction was below what the bank liked to see, according to its preliminary analysis. Petrik had never worked on a deal so weighed down by debt.

It was very proper to provide another viewpoint in your article about Gov. Martin O'Malley announcing that there would be a bill addressing the issue of gun control ("Gun control package pending," Dec. 19). However, I found the "perspective" offered by Del. Michael Smigiel to be an example of intellectual dishonesty and lazy thinking. Mr. Smigiel presented the same old "the problem is," response and I quote, "It is not to attack the firearm; it is to attack the problem, which is people who have a mental health issue.

Your recent article about the Hostess Inc. bankruptcy stated that the company blamed its closure on striking workers, but it failed to mention what else was happening as the company was trying to cut bakery workers' pay ("Hostess' shutdown prompts snack rush," Nov. 17). Indeed, while it was filing for bankruptcy, Hostess tripled its CEO's pay and gave significant salary increases to its top executives. That's some bad HoHo. Randi Hogan, Crownsville

The following letter was delivered to Leonard D. Wheeler, president of the Board of Education of Harford County. A copy was provided for publication. The Board of Education of Harford County is currently reviewing, discussing, and considering the Superintendent's Recommendations pertaining to the FY 14 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for Harford County Public Schools. In accordance with the Board's public deliberation and input from members of the community regarding the FY14 CIP, I am hereby advising the Board of my funding priorities for schools.

In a recent letter to the editor ("Sun ignores Obama's pathetic mess," June 14), the author chooses to ignore President Barack Obama's 26 consecutive months of job growth, the auto bailout that proved successful, and the stimulus that saved or created millions of jobs (according to the Congressional Budget Office). People like to claim that President Obama is a socialist - while the bankers on Wall Street enjoy big pay raises. Meanwhile, the top executives at America's largest companies are making 343 times more than the average worker while back in the 1970s, the average CEO earned only 28 times more than the average worker.

Compensation for T. Rowe Price Group's top executives went up last year, the Baltimore money manager reported Thursday. Chief Executive Officer and President James A.C. Kennedy's total package rose 10.5 percent to $7.9 million in 2011. Kennedy's base salary remained at $350,000, according to the company's proxy. His cash bonus rose to $5.5 million, from $5 million in 2010. The value of his stock options was $1.96 million, up from $1.7 million. Other compensation, which includes retirement contributions, matching charitable contributions and other benefits, totaled about $70,800, a slight increase from a year earlier.

The top executives of T. Rowe Price Group Inc. saw their compensation rise last year, the Baltimore-based investment firm reported. CEO James A.C. Kennedy earned $8.4 million in total compensation last year, a 7 percent increase over 2011 and Brian C. Rogers, Price's chairman and chief investment officer, earned $8.3 million in total compensation, an 8 percent increase from 2011, the company reported in a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and...

The median combined salary and bonus of the heads of mutual fund groups jumped to $1.2 million last year, roughly 30 percent above the $926,000 of 1994.In some cases, stock options, restricted stock and other incentives pushed those figures even higher, according to an annual study on fund executives' compensation by Fund Action, an industry newsletter in New York.The study, conducted in conjunction with Buck Consultants, a management consulting firm, analyzed the pay of top fund executives as reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission by 15 publicly traded large and small fund companies.

So now the Orioles usher in the Dan Duquette Era, which is not to be confused with the Andy MacPhail Era, the Jim Beattie-Mike Flanagan Era, the Syd Thrift Era, the Frank Wren Era and all the other eras we've seen during the tumultuous reign of Peter G. Angelos. But Duquette said all the right things — except when he referenced Boston instead of Baltimore once — at his introductory news conference Tuesday at The Warehouse. The new executive vice president of baseball operations talked about his admiration for the Orioles dating back to the mid-1960s, when he'd pretend to be Brooks Robinson in backyard Wiffle-ball games while his brother was Mark Belanger.

Dan Duquette had been out of a major league front office since 2002, the year he was fired by the Boston Red Sox after eight seasons as the team's general manager. The Orioles had been rejected by one candidate — and possibly more — in the team's month-long search to replace Andy MacPhail as the club's top baseball executive. On Sunday, Duquette found his way back to the big leagues and the Orioles found what they hoped was the man who would lead the team out of its 14-season abyss.