Equilar’s research frequently appears in leading media publications, including Bloomberg, BusinessWeek, Forbes, Fortune, Reuters, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. To learn more about recent coverage of Equilar research, please review the articles below.

Members of the press who are interested in learning more about Equilar's research and data services may direct inquires to press@equilar.com.

• 2008 Articles
• 2007 Articles
• 2006 Articles
• 2005 Articles
• 2004 Articles
• 2003 Articles
• 2002 Articles

2008 Articles

Fox Business News, December 31, 2008 Vote on the Best and Worst Executive of 2008 "Citi has paid Rubin $126.1m since 1999, according to Equilar, a research outfit. Despite avoiding any operational oversight, Rubin reportedly advised the bank to lever up its balance sheet and take on more risk during the bubble."

Wall Street Journal, December 30, 2008 Claiborne CEO Flies Commercial to Cut Costs "Twenty-eight U.S. companies, from Altria Group Inc. to Universal Corp., divulged their sale or planned disposal of corporate aircraft in the past two years, says Equilar Inc., which tracks executive compensation and benefits. Several others, including Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Citigroup Inc., say they are seeking buyers for company planes."

The Wall Street Journal, December 22, 2008 Firms Jump to Salvage 'Underwater' Stock Options "Companies say they're considering the swaps to bolster employee morale because so many options are now worthless. Equilar estimates that at 72% of Fortune 500 companies, the typical option is underwater. Some 93% of options held by Fortune 500 CEOs have no value at current prices, it says."

BusinessWeek, December 22, 2008 Executive Pay: Time for a Trim "The once-rare practice is accelerating rapidly. At the request of BusinessWeek, executive compensation research firm Equilar plumbed its database and found that at least 40 companies have filed documents with the SEC in the last six months to cut the salaries of their senior executives. Twenty-six of those companies did so in November and December alone."

The Washington Post, December 21, 2008 Passing the Buck "'The rate at which companies are reducing executive salaries is certainly accelerating, and in many cases, executives are acting ahead of their boards by voluntarily taking pay cuts,' said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager at Equilar."

The New York Times, December 18, 2008 On Wall Street, Bonuses, Not Profits, Were Real "Mr. O'Neal himself was paid $46 million, according to Equilar, an executive compensation research firm and data provider in California. Mr. Kim received $35 million. About 57 percent of their pay was in stock, which would lose much of its value over the next two years, but even the cash portions of their bonus were generous: $18.5 million for Mr. O'Neal, and $14.5 million for Mr. Kim, according to Equilar."

Inside CRM, December 17, 2008 What You Can Get for a Buck: CEOs with $1 Yearly Salaries "Regardless, the fact that — according to executive compensation research firm Equilar — CEOs of at least 32 companies took $1 or no base salary in the past year is certainly creating a buzz. Here's a rundown of the most notable salary-less executives."

Compliance Week, December 16, 2008 Top Option Grants, Stock Awards in Nov. "Every month, Compliance Week publishes a list of the largest stock option grants and restricted stock awards during the previous period. The data and analysis are provided by compensation research firm Equilar."

Agenda Magazine, December 15, 2008 Underwater Options Hit Silicon Valley Hard "Of Silicon Valley's 150 biggest public companies, more than 75% have at least some options with a trading value lower than their exercise price, according to Equilar. 'Many of the stock options granted in the last five to 10 years are probably worthless,' Equilar research manager Alexander Cwirko-Godycki tells the Mercury News."

The Wall Street Journal, December 12, 2008 For the Jet Set, a Newfound Austerity "In the slump following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, disruptions due to tougher airport security provided some justification for investing in a set of wings. In 2007, three-quarters of Fortune 100 companies disclosed personal use of corporate jets by chief executives, up from 59% in 2004, according to Equilar, an executive-compensation research firm."

Directorship, December 11, 2008 Clawback Provisions on the Rise "More than 64 percent of the Fortune 100 now have them in place, up from 17.6 percent in 2006, according to Equilar researchers... According to key findings in the Equilar report, the rise of clawbacks is a relatively new phenomenon: 91.7 percent of the Fortune 100 companies that have clawbacks adopted them in the last three years. 'Companies are coming around to the idea that clawbacks make sense,' says Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, a research manager at Equilar."

CNBC, December 10, 2008 Thain Pain: Why Some CEOs SHOULD Get Bonuses "This CEO backlash, moreover, could spread far beyond Wall Street to infect the entire U.S. economy. Yet, last year, median pay rose only 1.3% and bonuses fell by 5% for the CEOs of more than 230 multibillion-dollar companies, even as their stock prices rose an average of 7.5%, says the research firm Equilar."

Forbes, December 9, 2008 The Vanishing CEO Bonus “When CEOs and upper-level executives forfeit pay in bad times, their main aim is usually to help the business. Of course, it's always good PR, too—a way of avoiding scathing headlines. During a recession, when earnings really tank, CEOs can forfeit performance-related pay for several years running. That began happening last year, as the U.S.' economic woes spread around the world. Here are some of the men who refused their bonuses in 2007 and who continue to do so now.” Source: Equilar and proxy statements.

BusinessWeek, December 8, 2008 Thain: A First Test of the 2008 Bonus Climate "In 2006, 96.6% of CEOs in the S&P 500 received bonuses — with an average cash payout of $1.9 million according to research firm Equilar."

Agenda Magazine, December 8, 2008 Ford, GM CEOs Bet Salaries on Federal Help "According to Equilar, Mulally received total pay of nearly $22.8 million for 2007 and Wagoner got $15.7 million. That reportedly ranks them in the top quarter of CEOs in the S&P 500 index when it comes to compensation, while GM placed 190th on the index in stock market value last year and Ford came in 233rd."

Investment News, December 7, 2008 Companies Breathe Life Into Options "So far, 38 companies have exercised options exchange programs, compared with 14 for all of 2007, according to Equilar Inc. of Redwood Shores, Calif., and Radford Surveys + Consulting of San Jose, Calif., both of which specialize in tracking compensation."

The Times, December 7, 2008 Options Under Water "In America, repricing has already happened at several companies. US pay tracker Equilar found that 90% of Fortune 500 chief executives had underwater share options by mid-October. For tax reasons options are viewed as part of an executive's basic package in the US."

AsiaOne Online, December 7, 2008 $1 CEOs "When the CEOs of the big three car companies in the US pledged to take US$1 ($1.52) in salary as part of the deal to win a Congress bailout for their ailing companies, they did something which is quite common in the US business world. According to executive compensation firm Equilar, CEOs of 32 companies took $1 or no base salary."

San Jose Mercury News, December 6, 2008 Silicon Valley Companies Looking to Reprice Underwater Stock Options "But with the stock market's decline in recent months, more than three-quarters of Silicon Valley's 150 largest public companies have at least some options outstanding that are most likely 'out of the money' — meaning their exercise price is higher than the current trading value, according to Equilar, an executive compensation research firm in Redwood City."

BusinessWeek, December 5, 2008 Big Bonuses for CEOs? Not So Fast "According to executive compensation research firm Equilar, as recently as 2006, 96.6% of CEOs in the S&P 500 received a median $1.9 million in cash bonus compensation at the end of the year. As the financial crisis began in 2007, those figures fell somewhat, with 88.4% of CEOs receiving median bonuses of $1.84 million."

The Washington Independent, December 3, 2008 Detroit CEOs to Get $1 Per Year? Not Quite "Ford CEO Alan Mulally, for example, received $22.8 million in 2007, according to Equilar, an executive pay database, via The L.A. Times. But less than half of that — just $9 million — came in the form of 'salary and cash incentives.' The rest came from stock options."

The Dominion Post, December 5, 2008 Buddy, Can You Spare $34b? "Earlier this year, a study of the 10 biggest financial services firms in the United States found that mortgage-related losses wiped more than $200 billion off their balance sheets in 2007. Over the same period, compensation research firm Equilarreported the company chief executives were paid a total of $320 million."

The Los Angeles Times, December 3, 2008 General Motors and Ford CEOs Putting Their Salary On the Line "Wagoner's total compensation for 2007 was $15.7 million and Mulally's was almost $22.8 million, according to Equilar Inc., an executive compensation research and data provider. In terms of pay, that put them in the top quarter of CEOs in the Standard & Poor's 500 index."

ABC News, December 3, 2008 The Other Side of the $1 Salary "The $1 salaries are meant to be a symbol to shareholders, employees and taxpayers that the bosses are doing everything possible to fix their companies' problems. In the last year, the chief executives of 32 companies in the Russell 3000 took $1 or no base salary, according to executive compensation firm Equilar."

Associated Press, December 3, 2008 Humbled Big 3 Drive for New Deal "Ford CEO Alan Mulally said. Mulally and GM CEO Rick Wagoner both said they would work for $1 per year — Wagoner's 2007 compensation was $15.7 million and Mulally's was almost $22.8 million, data firm Equilar reported."

The Big Money, December 3, 2008 What the Buck? "Indeed, the Big Three CEOs appear to be late to the party. Alexander Cwirko-Godycki of compensation-research firm Equilar says that 32 firms in the Russell 3000 index already have CEOs making a dollar or less."

The Huffington Post, December 3, 2008 Is A $1 Salary Really A Major Sacrifice? "The $1 salaries are meant to be a symbol to shareholders, employees and taxpayers that the bosses are doing everything possible to fix their companies' problems. In the last year, the chief executives of 32 companies in the Russell 3000 took $1 or no base salary, according to executive compensation firm Equilar."

The Times of India, December 3, 2008 GM, Ford bosses Ready for 'Salary of One Dollar a Year' "Attributing to executive compensation firm Equilar Inc, the report stated that Wagoner's total compensation for 2007 was USD 15.7 million and Mulally's was almost 22.8 million."

The Wall Street Journal, December 1, 2008 Corporate Finance Chiefs Face New Pressures "The median compensation for finance chiefs in the S&P 500 rose 5.2% to $2.9 million last year, including salary, bonuses, the value of equity grants and other compensation. The increase was bigger than the 1.3% jump in CEO compensation, according to data tracker Equilar Inc., of Redwood Shores, Calif."

CFO Magazine, December 1, 2008 Things Are Looking Up "Provisions to claw back performance-based pay are also increasing: they are in effect at 64 percent of Fortune 100 companies, according to Equilar, up from 42 percent last year."

The Charlotte Observer, December 1, 2008 The Carolinas 50 "Bonuses are also in the cross hairs. They likely will be on the decline, since they typically are tied to performance, said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager for Equilar, an executive compensation research firm in California."

GraefCrystal.com, December 1, 2008 Opportunistically-Timed Options Are Alive and Well "To gain some sense whether companies like Oracle are in the majority, I turned to a database provided by Equilar Inc. that listed all the options granted in 2007 to the 508 CEOs running companies with market caps of $3 billion or more at the time I drew the data."

The Indianapolis Star, November 24, 2008 Generous Pay Doesn't Stop at Executive Suite "Those figures were higher than earnings for any Indiana public-company CEO last year, according to research firm Equilar. WellPoint CEO Angela Braly ranked No. 1 with $14.86 million."

RiskMetrics Risk & Governance Blog, November 24, 2008 What Will TARP Bring? "Notwithstanding the provisions of TARP, companies are voluntarily taking steps to reform their executive pay policies. More than two-thirds of Fortune 100 firms now have 'claw back' provisions, up from 42.1 percent in 2007, according to a recent study by the Equilar research firm."

Portfolio Magazine, November 18, 2008 Final Bonus Round "A new review by executive–compensation researcher Equilar of the 3,000 largest public companies reveals that four corporations paid bonuses of more than $20 million last year."

Compliance Week, November 18, 2008 Activists Rally the Troops for Say-on-Pay "Moreover, Equilar, an independent executive compensation data provider, found in its analysis of 2007 proxy data for 233 S&P 500 companies that the pay for performance linkage continues to be strong. Yes, company performance was mixed, as median annual revenues increased by 7.5 percent between 2006 and 2007, while net income increased by 1.3 percent."

Compliance Week, November 18, 2008 Top Option Grants, Stock Awards in Oct. "According to Equilar, several grants of 'premium-priced' options were awarded in October, an increasingly common compensation practice. Awards are considered premium priced when the exercise price of the grant is higher than the stock price on the grant date."

BusinessWeek, November 17, 2008 No Bonuses for Top Goldman Executives "Executive compensation consulting firm Equilar searched its database for BusinessWeek and turned up several recent examples of CEOs far from the bailout's epicenter whose pay had been trimmed, including Gannett's chief, who is taking a 17% pay cut."

ABC News, November 13, 2008 Art Imitates Life for Lehman CEO "Fuld collected $10,900,000 in base salary and $77,475,000 in cash bonuses during his 14 years as Lehman's chief. Most recently, he also reaped $539,909 from the sale of more than 2.5 million Lehman shares in September, according to Equilar, Inc., an executive compensation research firm and data provider."

Silicon Alley Insider, November 10, 2008 Everybody's Underwater In Silicon Valley "As of October 24, more than 80% of Silicon Valley's 150 largest publicly traded companies have employees holding underwater options, according to executive compensation research firm Equilar. CEOs at 90% of those companies also held options worth less than their strike price."

Philadelphia Inquirer, November 8, 2008 Pay Package Awarded to WHYY Chief Questioned "Equilar Inc., an executive compensation researcher based in California, found that the median annual compensation for CEOs at private-sector media and entertainment companies with revenues of $15 million to $60 million — up to twice the size of WHYY — was $537,513."

The Wall Street Journal, November 7, 2008 Silicon Valley Drowning in Underwater Stock Options "Now, the problem might be even bigger. More than 80% of Silicon Valley's 150 largest publicly traded companies had some employees holding options that had fallen below the strike price as of Oct. 24, according to Equilar, an executive compensation research firm. Equilar said about 90% of chief executives at those companies had underwater stock options."

Icahn Report, November 5, 2008 Bonus Bonanzas Should End with Bailouts "From 2006 to 2008, the number of Fortune 100 companies that have disclosed clawback policies has increased, according to executive compensation firm Equilar. But still more needs to be done. Clawback policies generally allow companies to seize compensation in the event of a financial restatement or ethical misconduct, according to Equilar, an executive compensation firm."

The Washington Post, November 5, 2008 Gannett's Chief Gives Himself A 17 Percent Salary Reduction "Beyond the debate on Capitol Hill, some who study executive compensation said many corporate chiefs are likely to see cuts in pay this year as the downturn puts pressure on corporate earnings and shareholder scrutiny mounts. 'It is certainly a sign of the times,' said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager of Equilar, a provider of executive compensation data."

Bureau of National Affairs, November 4, 2008 Clawback Policies Gaining at Fortune 100 "By the end of 2007, nearly 65 percent of Fortune 100 companies had clawback policies that allowed them to recoup executive compensation in the event of a financial restatement or misconduct, according to proxy statements analyzed by the executive compensation research firm and data provider Equilar Inc."

HR Executive Magazine, November 4, 2008 HR Gender Pay Gap "Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager for Equilar Inc., an executive compensation research firm in Redwood Shores, Calif., says that top-earning HR executives often take on roles in the company on top of the HR function."

Agenda Magazine, November 3, 2008 Clawback Policies at Large Companies Skyrocket "According to the study, from research firm Equilar, 64.2% of the biggest 95 publicly traded companies in the Fortune 100 had revealed clawback policies as of 2008, compared with 42.1% last year and 17.6% in 2006."

Agenda Magazine, November 3, 2008 Stock Slump Knocks Interests Out of Alignment "Executives' owning a big stake in the company that employs them aligns their interests with shareholders', Equilar research manager Alexander Cwirko-Godycki tells Financial Week. 'But if those shares are pledged, then their interests aren't aligned,' Cwirko-Godycki says. 'That stake could just evaporate.'"

Agenda Magazine, November 3, 2008 Boards Boost Restricted Stock Over Options "With over 90% of S&P 500 companies reporting that the options portions of CEO pay plans are now underwater, according to Equilar, comp committees are scrambling to offer restricted stock or restricted stock units in long-term incentive plans."

Financial Week, November 2, 2008 C-sweet Payloads at Automakers Next in Headlight “'Anytime a company is losing money, which you've certainly seen in the auto industry, people might look at every dollar of executive compensation and say it's excessive,' said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager at Equilar. He noted that it's easier to target the auto companies because there are so few of them, which makes it difficult to match pay against peer groups.”

CFO Magazine, November 1, 2008 Things Are Looking Up "And few experts see CFOs stepping out of the limelight any time soon, which should bode well for future pay prospects. 'More visibility,' says Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager for executive-compensation research firm Equilar Inc., 'leads to a ratcheting up of pay.'"

Directorship, October 31, 2008 CEOs Awash in Worthless Options "In 2007, only 32 percent of Fortune 500 companies had outstanding employee stock options with a weighted average exercise price higher than their closing stock price that day, according to research by Equilar, an executive compensation research firm and data provider."

Reuters, October 31, 2008 Investors Push for Executive Bonus Clawbacks "The ABI proposal comes as a study published on Thursday by pay research firm Equilar found that nearly two-thirds of big U.S. firms have adopted clawback clauses. The U.S. Treasury Department is also demanding that banks selling equity stakes to the government agree to adopt clawback policies as part of the bailout plan."

GraefCrystal.com, October 31, 2008 In Bad Companies, Some Bonuses May Be Deserved "There may be more bonus discipline than usual, but if 2007 is any guide, we will still encounter plenty of CEOs with tin bonus ears. I went through a 507-company database I created containing 2007 pay information on CEOs running companies with $3 billion or more of market cap. Data for this article were obtained from Equilar, Inc., a leading provider of executive pay data."

Forbes, October 29, 2008 Clawbacks Are In Place And Ineffective “'A clawback policy at best is just one element in the toolkit that a company might employ to curb extensive risk-taking,' says Alex Cwirko-Godycki, Equilar's research manager who co-authored the study. 'It's not the catchall solution.'”

Reuters, October 29, 2008 More U.S. Firms Ban Execs From Ill-gotten Pay "'We're switching from a situation from where it was a toss-up as to whether a company would have a clawback policy to now, there is a clear consensus that clawbacks are a good corporate governance policy,' said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, a research manager at Equilar and one of the study's authors."

GraefCrystal.com, October 27, 2008 Bank of America's Kenneth Lewis: No Great Shakes "For the years 2002 through 2007, I scored him as receiving total pay of, respectively, $22 million, $21 million, $21 million, $24 million, $23 million and $23 million. Certain of the compensation data for this article were obtained from Equilar, Inc., a leading provider of executive pay data."

The Indianapolis Star, October 27, 2008 Bank Had One, CEO the Other "David Daberko, who stepped down as National City's chief executive in 2007, collected total pay worth $64.9 million from 1991 to 2007, according to Equilar, an executive-pay data provider in Redwood Shores, Calif. That total includes pay worth $5.2 million in 2007 and $7.2 million in 2006."

Financial Week, October 26, 2008 Boards May Revamp Exec Pay Plans “Executives are clearly sweating. Research firm Equilar reported a huge spike in requests from companies for data regarding retention bonuses and peer group metrics, 'especially from the financial sector, where there is a big rethinking of how pay should be measured,' said research manager Alexander Cwirko-Godycki.”

Financial Week, October 26, 2008 Collateral Damage “'The reason this is troubling from the investor side is that there is a sense that if executives hold a lot of stock, their interests are aligned with shareholders,' said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, a research manager for Equilar.”

BusinessWeek, October 23, 2008 Managing Employees in a Downturn "A few [companies] are considering the controversial step of repricing or exchanging them. Compensation research firm Equilar reports that 23 companies have done so since the beginning of the year, including R.H. Donnelley and software maker VMware."

MSN Money, October 22, 2008 Seven Things to Learn From a CEO "Last year, Ford gave chief Alan Mulally $752,203 worth of personal use of the company jet — which extended to friends and family members — compared with a median of $121,676 in personal-aircraft use by CEOs at Fortune 100 companies, according to Equilar."

The Wall Street Journal, October 22, 2008 Even in HR, Women's Pay Lags Men's "Most human resource professionals are women, but last year 37 of the 50 highest-paid HR executives at Russell 3000 companies were men, according to a survey of 2007 proxy statements by Equilar, Inc., a California-based executive compensation research firm."

Compliance Week, October 21, 2008 Director Ownership Policies Emerge As Best Practice "In 2007, more than three-quarters of Fortune 250 companies publicly disclosed stock ownership policies for non-employee directors, according to compensation research firm Equilar. The prevalence of companies that have ownership guidelines, holding requirements, or both, rose from 77.6 percent in 2006 to 78.9 percent in 2007."

The New York Times, October 20, 2008 Insiders' Share Sales on Margin on the Rise "Already this month, there have been about $1 billion in sales by company insiders dumping stock to meet margin calls, as lenders' demands for the stock sales are known. According to Equilar, an executive compensation research firm in Redwood Shores, Calif., executives at three dozen companies have disclosed such sales since October."

Agenda Magazine, October 20, 2008 Bailout Prompts New Look at Comp Consultant Selection "According to an Equilar analysis of 2007 SEC proxy filings, comp consulting fees that were disclosed in 2007 averaged nearly $162,000. That was a 33% increase over the average amount the year before."

Agenda Magazine, October 20, 2008 Boards Brace for Greater Comp Consultant Disclosure "In the most recent proxy disclosures, only 3% of companies disclosed these fees, but that's up from just 1% in the previous year's filings, according to research by Equilar."

Agenda Magazine, October 20, 2008 Investor Group Ramps Up Pressure Over Independence "While regulators do not require companies to use consultants, 82% of the Fortune 1000 largest public companies retained executive compensation consultants last year, according to Equilar."

CNN Money, October 17, 2008 Former Lehman Brothers CEO Subpoenaed "Fuld — who took home more than $45 million in salary and bonuses in 2007, according to executive compensation firm Equilar — testified before a Congressional committee earlier this month, telling lawmakers Lehman's failure centered on inaction on the part of government and a loss of confidence in the financial markets."

San Jose Business Journal, October 17, 2008 Market Drop Puts Squeeze on Option Pay "The trend is already beginning, according to Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager at Equilar Inc., a Redwood City outfit that analyzes executive and board-of-director compensation at publicly traded companies."

CNN.com, October 17, 2008 Wall Street: Fall of the Fat Cats "One prominent example is the CEO of Lehman Brothers, Richard Fuld. In 2007 alone, according to the executive compensation firm Equilar, he earned total take-home compensation of more than $45 million in salary and bonuses."

CNN Money, October 15, 2008 Exec Comp Rules Won't Pay Off Big "But companies have already shown themselves willing to take tax hits. Despite the current $1 million cap on base pay, the median CEO of an S&P 500 company gets $1.3 million, according to research firm Equilar."

The Indianapolis Star, October 15, 2008 Bralys Will Give $300,000 to United Way Over 3 Years "Braly received compensation from WellPoint worth an estimated $14.86 million in 2007, according to compensation research company Equilar. That made her the state's top-paid CEO of a public company last year."

San Francisco Chronicle, October 14, 2008 It's Time to Bring Our Infrastructure Up to Snuff "Despite the controversy generated by over-the-top packages, this comes as little surprise to Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager for Equilar Inc. of Redwood City, which keeps track of executive pay. The pay limitations imposed on companies feeding at the $700 billion federal bailout trough may have been meant as a broader signal, but they 'won't lead to dramatic changes overall,' he said."

Compliance Week, October 14, 2008 Top Option Grants, Stock Awards in Sept. "According to Equilar, several grants of 'premium-priced' options were awarded in September, an increasingly common compensation practice. Awards are considered premium priced when the exercise price of the grant is higher than the stock price on the grant date. Such awards are not well loved by executives, as the awards are immediately 'underwater,' so the company's stock price has to rise to the level of the exercise price for the award to have any value."

Multichannel News, October 13, 2008 Economy Spares Payrolls - For Now "Companies that don't have clear and extensive succession plans for senior executives tend to have to pay more to get outside talent, according to Equilar, a Redwood Shores, Calif.-based compensation data and research firm specializing in executive- and director-level jobs."

The Wall Street Journal, October 10, 2008 Firms Try to Shore Up Incentive Pay "Compensation-tracker Equilar Inc. found more than 20 companies that implemented option exchanges so far this year, including home builder Toll Brothers Inc. and software company VMware Inc."

San Francisco Chronicle, October 10, 2008 AIG Leads Bailout From Half Moon Bay "Equilar, an executive compensation research firm in Redwood City, gave us the following "career compensation" figures for Wells Fargo's chairman and former CEO Richard Kovacevich and former executive vice president, chief operating officer and current CEO John Stumpf."

San Francisco Chronicle, October 10, 2008 Wells Fargo Execs: Fair Day's Pay? "With all eyes on executive compensation, what do you make of these numbers? Equilar, an executive compensation research firm based in Redwood Shores, gave us the following "career compensation" figures for Wells Fargo's chairman and former CEO Richard Kovacevich."

GraefCrystal.com, October 9, 2008 Option Certificates Morph to Wallpaper "If you're going to be paid the big bucks for crossing Niagara Falls on a high wire, you should not have a safety net six inches underneath the wire. The compensation data for this article were obtained from Equilar, Inc., a leading provider of executive pay data."

San Jose Business Journal, October 8, 2008 The List: 50 Fastest-growing Private Companies "The Business Journal announced its Fast 50 — the 50 fastest-growing private companies in the Silicon Valley. Rankings were based on percentage of revenue growth from 2005 through 2007. In order, the winners were...Equilar Inc. of Redwood Shores with 64.87 percent growth."

The Wall Street Journal, October 6, 2008 Bailout's Bid to Limit Executive Pay Will Be Tough to Realize "In five years as Merrill Lynch & Co.'s chief executive officer, Stan O'Neal made $150 million in salary, bonuses and the value of equity at the time of grants, according to data-tracker Equilar Inc., before leaving in October 2007 in the wake of an $8.4 billion write-down."

The Indianapolis Star, October 6, 2008 Lofty Exec Pay May be Facing Closer Scrutiny "Richard Fuld, chief executive of bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings, collected pay valued at almost $465 million from 1993 through 2007, according to career compensation data from California-based research firm Equilar. That includes pay worth about $45.4 million last year."

Agenda Magazine, October 6, 2008 Financial Crisis Ramps up Pressure on Severance "'There are more requests for special retention packages,' notes Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager at Equilar. 'They help stabilize the management team.'"

Omaha World Herald, October 5, 2008 Executive Pay: Some Outraged by CEO Salaries "Omaha's largest companies pay their top executives well, but not as much as some of the Wall Street firms, according to company reports compiled earlier this year for the New York Times. (See chart for Equilardata.)"

Turkish Daily News, October 4, 2008 A Bird's Eye View "He took home nearly half-a-billion dollars in total compensation between 1993 and 2007. Last year Fuld earned about $45 million according to the calculations of Equilar, an executive pay research company. That amounts to roughly $17,000 an hour to obliterate a firm."

The New York Times, October 3, 2008 They're Pinching Hundred-Dollar Bills "Richard S. Fuld Jr., the former chief executive of Lehman Brothers, for example, took home $466 million in cash and proceeds from stock sales from 1993 through November 2007, according to the compensation analysis firm Equilar."

Agenda Magazine, September 29, 2008 Ousted AIG CEO: No Thanks on $22M Parachute "Equilar research manager Alexander Cwirko-Godycki says companies' cutting back severance packages, particularly for newer executives, has become a trend, Workforce Management reports."

GraefCrystal.com, September 29, 2008 Dear Nancy and Barney: You've Been Had! "In a study of 508 CEOs running companies with $3 billion or more of market cap, I found that 191 are paying more than $1 million in base salary. Compensation data for this article were obtained from Equilar, Inc., a leading provider of executive pay data."

USA Today, September 28, 2008 CEO Pay Takes a Hit in Bailout Plan "Departed financial chieftains at some of the firms caught in the mortgage meltdown didn't have to wait for golden parachutes to collect eye-bulging compensation, says Equilar, a compensation-consulting firm."

Bloomberg, September 28, 2008 MoMA Chief Made $1.7 Million in 2007, Tops for Arts Executives "The median pay for nonprofit leaders in the Chronicle's survey rose 5 percent last year. Palmer said the median base salary of chief executives at large companies grew by 3 percent to $1.03 million, according to a study by the San Mateo, California-based Equilar, which tracks executive and board pay at for-profit companies."

Seattle Times, September 27, 2008 WaMu Sale Could Mean Job Cuts- and Maybe Hires, Too "All told, Killinger received take-home pay totaling $98 million from 1994, the earliest year for which data is available, through 2007, according to Equilar, an executive-compensation research firm in Redwood Shores, Calif. He pocketed a total $22 million in 2006 and 2007 alone."

The Wall Street Journal, September 26, 2008 Curbs on Pay Advance in Bailout Plan "Severance provisions are a common feature of executive-employment contracts. A 2007 study of 137 large companies by data-tracker Equilar Inc. found 71.5% of CEOs had severance agreements, valued at a median $21 million, including cash severance, equity grants and various benefits."

MSN, September 26, 2008 CEO Pay Crackdown is Toothless "It's the same with Kenneth Lewis, the CEO of Bank of America. He has made $98.6 million over the past three years, according to Equilar, an executive-compensation research firm in Redwood Shores, Calif."

MSN, September 26, 2008 As Banks Broke Down, CEOs Cashed In "Many CEOs who led their banks and brokerages into the subprime abyss collected millions through salaries, stock options and bonuses. Equilar, an executive-compensation research firm in Redwood Shores, Calif., helped columnist Michael Brush take a look at what some of the key players earned over the past three years as the nation's banks went bust."

Financial Week, September 26, 2008 Financial Week in Review: AIG's Government Bailout “But his action has brought more attention to the heated debate over the appropriate level of compensation for CEOs of failing companies. 'There is definitely a trend of some companies cutting back on some of these severance packages, especially for newer executives,' said Equilar research manager Alexander Cwirko-Godycki.”

Accounting & Business Magazine, September 24, 2008 Rein In Pay “According to analysis by Equilar, an executive compensation benchmarking firm, the number of firms detailing specific performance targets that executives must meet rose 10 percentage points from 2006 to 2007 — to 66.4%.”

The Washington Post, September 24, 2008 Top Executives at Bruised Firms Among 's Highest Paid "'It goes against the grain of the culture of the industry where people expect to work hard and take risks and get rewarded through pay for that hard work,' said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager for executive compensation research firm Equilar."

The New York Times, September 24, 2008 Executive Pay Packages Raise Hackles in Congress "'It goes against the grain of the culture of the industry where people expect to work hard and take risks and get rewarded through pay for that hard work,' said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager for executive compensation research firm Equilar."

Fortune Magazine, September 24, 2008 The 25 Highest-paid Women "Which corporate women raked it in - and how much did they earn? Equilar Inc., an executive compensation research firm in Redwood Shores, Calif., prepared the chart by looking at companies with more than $1 billion in revenues that filed proxies by Aug. 15."

The New York Times Deal Book, September 24, 2008 Wall Street's Consolation Prizes for the Defeated "Amid the many hotly debated issues surrounding the Bush administration's bailout proposal is executive compensation. More specifically: many critics don't want executives of failing financial firms to bail out with golden parachutes, or handsome exit pay packages." (See graphic for Equilar data.)

ABC News, September 23, 2008 AIG CEO Rejects $22 Million Parachute; Will Others Follow? "Merrill's Thain, meanwhile, took home $15 million in 2007, according to Equilar, while former Merrill CEO Stanley O'Neal received $11.3 million and former Bear Stearns chief James Cayne, whose firm had the dubious distinction of receiving the first major government bailout of the year, received $11 million."

Directorship, September 23, 2008 Willumstad Declines Severance "'There is definitely a trend of some companies cutting back on some of these severance packages, especially for newer executives,' said Equilar research manager Alexander Cwirko-Godycki to FW."

Financial Week, September 23, 2008 By Rejecting Severance, AIG's Ex-CEO Shines a Light on Exec Pay Debate “'There is definitely a trend of some companies cutting back on some of these severance packages, especially for newer executives,' said Equilar research manager Alexander Cwirko-Godycki.”

The Kansas City Star, September 23, 2008 The Men Who Bankrupted America "These examples and more were contained in last Sunday's New York Times business section. The newspaper used figures provided by Equilar, a compensation research firm."

Fortune Magazine, September 22, 2008 The 25 Highest-paid Men "See how the best-compensated male executives' paychecks compare to the 25 best-paid women. Equilar Inc., an executive compensation research firm in Redwood Shores, Calif., prepared the chart by looking at companies with more than $1 billion in revenues that filed proxies by Aug. 15."

GraefCrystal.com, September 22, 2008 Richard Fuld: Two Words Meaning Total Failure "His 2.5 million unexercised option shares are worthless. They have strike prices ranging from $35.70 to $63.83. Had they been exercised on Feb. 2, 2007, they would have brought gains of $99 million. Compensation data for this article were obtained from Equilar, Inc., a leading provider of executive pay data."

The New York Times, September 21, 2008 The Shareholders at the Top "They rode their shares to great heights during the glory days, and many of them just had a very hard fall. Below are the values of selected chief executives' stock ownership (not including options), in most cases at the beginning of 2007 and on Friday. Figures are provided by Equilar, a compensation research firm."

Law 360, September 18, 2008 Shareholders Unlikely To Gets Hands In Execs' Wallets "Merrill brought in Chief Executive Officer John Thain at the end of 2007 and gave him a $15 million signing bonus. Equilar said Thain was paid $15.06 million from Merrill in fiscal 2007, and he also received large initial grants of stock options and stock which he has yet to realize value from."

GraefCrystal.com, September 18, 2008 Pay for Chief Legal Officers "I've studied the pay of CLOs in 239 major companies, all with market caps of $3 billion or higher. The compensation data for this article were obtained from Equilar, Inc., a leading provider of executive pay data."

ABC News, September 17, 2008 Pay for Chief Legal Officers "Shares of Fannie Mae are now trading at about 48 cents, down from a high over the past year of just over $70. Still, last year, according to Equilar, an executive compensation research firm, CEO Daniel Mudd received about $14 million in total compensation."

The New York Times, September 17, 2008 Need a Job? $17,000 an Hour. No Success Required. "You should be raking it in like Richard Fuld, the longtime chief of Lehman Brothers. He took home nearly half-a-billion dollars in total compensation between 1993 and 2007. Last year, Mr. Fuld earned about $45 million, according to the calculations of Equilar, an executive pay research company. That amounts to roughly $17,000 an hour to obliterate a firm."

The New York Times Deal Book, September 17, 2008 Washington Wants to Hear from Lehman's Chief "According to Equilar, an executive compensation firm, Mr. Fuld took home about $466 million between 1993 and 2007, including base salary, bonuses, long-term incentive plan payouts and the value of stock options he exercised."

Compliance Week, September 16, 2008 Top Option Grants, Stock Awards in August "According to Equilar, several grants of 'premium-priced' options were awarded in August, an increasingly common compensation practice. Awards are considered premium priced when the exercise price of the grant is higher than the stock price on the grant date. Such awards are not well loved by executives, as the awards are immediately 'underwater,' so the company's stock price has to rise to the level of the exercise price for the award to have any value."

Forbes, September 15, 2008 Poor Richard's Retirement Plan “Don't worry about Fuld, though. Between 1993 and 2007, he took home $466 million in pay, according to executive pay research firm Equilar. This figure includes base salary, bonus and long-term incentive plan payouts, and the value realized from stock option exercises and other benefits.”

Reuters, September 15, 2008 Merrill CEO Stands to Collect $9.7 Million Payout "At Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, which sought bankruptcy protection over the weekend, CEO Richard Fuld took home an estimated $466 million in compensation from 1993 to 2007, according to data compiled by executive compensation research firm Equilar Inc."

The Wall Street Journal, September 15, 2008 Companies Cut Holes in CEOs' Golden Parachutes "Also stoking criticism of severance pay: new rules requiring companies to disclose prospective payments. In Equilar's study, the median CEO would receive $21 million for being ousted and $29 million following a change in control."

Agenda Magazine, September 15, 2008 Lawmakers Outraged Over Severance for Fannie, Freddie CEOs "Meanwhile, Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd is expected to walk away with $9.3 million. Since taking over as head in 2004, Mudd has earned $12.4 million in salary, bonuses and stock options, according to an analysis by Equilar."

Staffing Industry Report, September 15, 2008 Staffing Exec's Median Total Pay Hits $1.1 Million "Total compensation for top staffing industry executives rose to a median $1.1 million in 2007 from $1.0 million in the previous year, according to an analysis of executive compensation. Staffing Industry Analysts Inc. contracted with Equilar Inc. to compile data on the two highest-paid executives at 31 publicly traded staffing firms in the United States."

The Indianapolis Star, September 13, 2008 Steel Icon Isn't Finished Rebuilding "Since starting Steel Dynamics, Busse has earned $23.5 million in salary, bonuses and exercised stock options, according to Equilar a California-based executive compensation research firm."

Reuters, September 12, 2008 Lehman's Fuld Suffers Wealth Hit as Shares Fall "He took home an estimated $466 million in compensation from 1993 to 2007, according to executive compensation research firm Equilar Inc. Stock option gains, totaling about $363 million, account for the bulk of that sum."

The New York Times Deal Book, September 11, 2008 Counting the Cash for Lehman's Chief "Between 1993 and 2007, Mr. Fuld took home about $466 million in compensation, including base salary, bonuses, long-term incentive plan payouts and the value of stock options he exercised. That's according to calculations from Equilar, an executive compensation research firm."

The New York Times, September 10, 2008 Nice Work if You Can Get It "The severance would come on top of $12.4 million in salary, bonuses and stock-option profits that Mr. Mudd has taken home since becoming Fannie's chief executive in 2004, according to Equilar research."

The Journal, September 10, 2008 Obama Seeks Review of CEO Exit Pay "In 2006, the latest figures available, 42.1% of 100 companies had adopted clawback provisions, compared with 17.6% in 2005, according to pay-tracker Equilar Inc. Last year, the percentage was likely to top 50%, Equilar said. Few companies have used the provisions."

The New York Times, September 9, 2008 Reduced Exit Packages Urged for Ousted Executives "That is on top of $12.4 million in salary, bonuses and profits after cashing in stock options he has taken home since becoming chief executive in 2004, according to Equilar research."

Dow Jones Newswire, September 9, 2008 Fannie, Freddie Employees Suffer Losses As Stocks Plummet "'Given the current stock price, I think it is a safe bet to say that all of the outstanding stock options at Freddie and Fannie are now underwater and have no value,' said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager at Equilar Inc., an executive-compensation research firm. 'As such, I think there is zero chance that any employees, including executives who probably hold the bulk of these options, will receive any value or choose to exercise shares.'"

Financial Week, September 9, 2008 Wachovia Lands New CFO, but Could Be On the Hook for $22 Million in Comp “'These types of performance payouts are becoming more common, especially in the financial services industry,' said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, senior analyst at Equilar. 'It sends a pretty clear message to shareholders that increasing the stock price is a company's number one priority.'”

The Washington Post, September 9, 2008 Ousted Fannie, Freddie CEOs Could Still See Big Paydays "Since becoming chief executive of Freddie Mac at the end of 2003, Syron has taken home $17.1 million in compensation, said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager for Equilar, an executive pay research firm. That figure does not include stock and option awards that Freddie Mac valued at $45.1 million when they were issued, and it appears that he has not liquidated any of those, Cwirko-Godycki said."

Reuters, September 8, 2008 Ex-Fannie, Freddie CEOs May Collect Millions "Not including the severance package, Syron has collected about $17.1 million in compensation since becoming CEO of Freddie Mac in 2003, according to Equilar Inc, an executive compensation research firm in Redwood Shores, California. Mudd has collected $12.4 million in compensation since becoming CEO in 2004, not including the value of the severance package, according to Equilar."

The New York Times, September 8, 2008 Few Stand to Gain on This Bailout, and Many Lose "Mr. Mudd has already taken home $12.4 million in cash compensation and stock option gains since becoming chief executive in 2004, according to an analysis by Equilar, an executive pay research firm."

The Indianapolis Star, September 8, 2008 Top Executives at Brightpoint Scoop Up Shares "Laikin has received $44.7 million in total compensation since becoming Brightpoint CEO in 1994, according to Equilar, an executive compensation research firm in California. That includes salary, bonuses, stock awards, other perks and the value from exercising stock options."

Agenda Magazine, September 8, 2008 Comp Consultants Lock Horns Over Independence Issue "Among 1000 companies, 61% still used full-service consulting firms in some capacity for executive pay advice last year, Marquardt writes, citing data from Equilar."

Financial Week, September 2, 2008 Golf Club Dues, Other Exec Fringe Benefits Trimmed Way Back “'Many companies find it easier to eliminate perquisites than to continue to try to explain why they are needed,' said Alex Cwirko-Godycki, research manager at Equilar, a compensation consulting firm.”

Directorship, September 2, 2008 CEO Perks Show Decline "An Equilar analysis of CEO aircraft perks showed that from 2006 to 2007, the median value related to the personal use of corporate aircraft by 100 CEOs declined by almost 10 percent, falling from $121,676 to $109,743."

Agenda Magazine, September 2, 2008 Large Companies Overwhelmingly Choose Inside CEOs "A new report by Equilar found that the median three-year total shareholder return for S&P 1500 companies that hired a CEO from outside was lower than for companies that promoted a CEO from within."

Agenda Magazine, September 2, 2008 How Comp Committees Are Using Performance Metrics "In fact, a recent Equilar research report, based on data contained in the proxies of 430 companies on the S&P 500 list, found that the number of metrics decreases as much as 50% from short-term to long-term plans."

Crain's Plastics News, September 1, 2008 Getting Paid What You're Worth "'There has been no dramatic shift in how companies assemble pay packages and salary levels,' said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager with Equilar Inc., an executive compensation research firm in Redwood City, Calif."

Directorship, September 1, 2008 Compensation: The Director's Cut "'The rise in cash payments is a way of directly rewarding directors for the time they spend on the board,' says Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager at Equilar. 'It's also a means of compensating for a lack of board-meeting fees.'"

Directorship, September 1, 2008 Need to Know: September 2008 "A study by Equilar finds that companies that are forced to go outside to hire a new CEO pay 75 percent more for a CEO than for one promoted from within. The first-year median pay package for large cap externally hired CEOs is $12.1 million, compared to $6.9 million for internally hired chiefs."

GraefCrystal.com, September 1, 2008 Rupert Murdoch: Champion Pay Porker "I use the phrase 'champion pay porker' sparingly. But, in my opinion, what else is there to call a chief executive officer who pays himself $30 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2008 and then adds in another $29 million for his chief operating officer. Pay information used in this report was derived from Equilar, Inc., a leading provider of executive pay data."

GraefCrystal.com, September 1, 2008 Pay in Computer and Software Companies "When it comes to the pay of chief executive officers, there seems to be a difference of opinion in Silicon Valley: There's the Take-Everything-You-Can Get School (Think Larry Ellison); or the Do-the-Job-For-Nothing School (Think Steve Jobs). In between these two extremes, we have 63 other CEOs whose pay I studied. Pay information used in this report was derived from Equilar, Inc., a leading provider of executive pay data."

The Morning Call, August 31, 2008 What They Made "Still, the pace of CEO pay growth slowed substantially in 2007 compared with 2006, in large part because the economy took a downturn, said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager with Equilar Inc. From 2005 to 2006, the average CEO with large companies saw their compensation increase by 6 percent. From 2006 to 2007, compensation went up by only 1.3 percent, and the numbers could dip or remain flat in 2008, Cwirko-Godycki said."

Portfolio Magazine, August 29, 2008 What Do Rap Stars and C.E.O.'s Have in Common? "Executives' personal use of corporate aircraft declined by 9.8 percent last year, Equilar, a Redwood City, California, compensation research company, concluded after reviewing filings by the 95 biggest publicly traded companies. It found that companies acknowledged giving chief executives a median of $109,743 worth of flight hours on corporate jets, down from about $121,600 in 2006."

Footnoted.org, August 29, 2008 Freud in the Filings... "Yet that's exactly what Expeditors International (EXPD) has been doing, fairly consistently. In the 8-K it filed earlier this week, which continued its practice of publishing questions and answers it presumably receives from investors, it had a little bit of fun with one question regarding what appeared to be a missing 8K. (Thanks to Equilar's David Sasaki for bringing this to our attention)."

BusinessWeek, August 28, 2008 CEOs Get Fewer Perks "It may still be good to be king, but increasingly the job is coming with fewer perks. In its third annual study of fringe benefits for chief executives, compensation research firm Equilar found that the median values of seven of the nine major CEO perquisites that it tracks—from personal aircraft use to country club memberships—were down or remained flat from 2006 to 2007."

MSN, August 27, 2008 Taxpayers Give Fat Cats $20 Billion "IAC's Diller earned the most from options last year, according to Equilar, an executive-compensation research firm in Redwood Shores, Calif. Diller realized $183 million in 2007 by cashing in options, Equilar says."

Agenda Magazine, August 25, 2008 Sluggish Market Prompts Comp Changes "A recent Equilar report using data from 2007 proxy statements of 430 S&P 500 companies revealed significant differences in the metrics chosen depending on whether the comp committee was considering an annual cash incentive, multi-year cash incentive, or a stock and unit incentive plan."

The Kansas City Star, August 25, 2008 Average Taxpayers Subsidize Executive Pay, Report Says "The 15th annual report, 'Executive Excess 2008: How Average Taxpayers Subsidize Runaway Pay,' criticizes five tax loopholes that Congress has looked at but not plugged. A study by Equilar, a pay analytics firm, found that U.S. executives' deferred compensation plan balances increased to a median value of $4.5 million last year."

BusinessWeek, August 21, 2008 Executive Pay Rising, But More "Shareholder Friendly." Huh? "And an email from the independent (and always helpful) pay consultant Frank Glassner happily points to a Financial Week story detailing an Equilar analysis that says 39% of companies are now using independent pay consultants, up from 35% in 2007."

BusinessWeek, August 21, 2008 Extravagant Executive Pay Shows Signs of Moderation "According to data provided by Equilar, CEOs in half of the S&P 500 sectors received pay hikes in 2007, while the rest took cuts. Energy paid the most, but telecom ponied up more as a percentage of revenue."

Dow Jones Newswire, August 20, 2008 UPDATE: Oracle's Ellison Made $543.8 Million From Options In Past Fiscal Year "The options exercise appears to dwarf any stock option gain by a corporate executive in recent years, according to executive compensation research firm Equilar. Ellison, the world's 14th richest man, according to Forbes magazine, already has a net worth of around $25 billion, much of it from stock options."

CFO Magazine, August 20, 2008 Amid the Din over Exec Pay, Companies Hold the Line "A significant number of companies have opened up about the way they set incentive-plan performance targets, notes Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager at Equilar Inc. His analysis of 2008 CD&A statements from 100 companies shows that 66 percent disclosed incentive-plan performance targets, up from 56 percent in 2007."

Compliance Week, August 19, 2008 Top Option Grants, Stock Awards in July "According to Equilar, several grants of 'premium-priced' options were awarded in July, an increasingly common compensation practice. Awards are considered premium priced when the exercise price of the grant is higher than the stock price on the grant date. Such awards are not well loved by executives, as the awards are immediately 'underwater,' so the company's stock price has to rise to the level of the exercise price for the award to have any value."

Agenda Magazine, August 18, 2008 Use of Independent Pay Consultants Rises Slightly "Among 1000 companies, 39% of comp committees now use independent consultants for advice on executive pay, according to an Equilar proxy-filing analysis commissioned by Financial Week. Last year, 35% of comp committees did so."

Forbes, August 13, 2008 America's Top-Earning Young CEOs “'It's more of a high-stakes game than it was in the past,' says Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager at Equilar, an executive compensation research firm. 'Boards are more risk-averse when choosing CEOs. It makes it harder for young people to be promoted to that level.' Proven leadership experience is ultimately what leads to mega bucks, say compensation experts.”

Financial Week, August 11, 2008 Big Oil Bigs Tap Into One Helluva Geyser “According to executive compensation research firm Equilar, median total pay for CEOs of the 12 largest U.S.-based publicly traded oil companies increased at more than four times the rate of that for other CEOs in the S&P 500 from 2006 to 2007.”

Financial Week, August 11, 2008 More Pay Pals Get Pink Slips “In just the last year, large corporations have tapped independent compensation consultants at a considerable clip: Among 1000 companies, 39% of compensation committees now rely on independent consultants for advice on executive pay, compared with only 35% a year ago, according to an analysis of proxy filings that compensation research firm Equilar conducted at the request of Financial Week. (The remaining compensation consulting arrangements are with 'full-service' firms.)”

The Indianapolis Star, August 11, 2008 Transport Exec is Revving Up New Venture "Holden also will invest. From January 2005, when he became CEO of American Commercial, through the start of 2008, Holden took home about $14.5 million in total pay, according to compensation research company Equilar."

Financial Week, August 6, 2008 Boards Paying a Stiff Premium to Bring in Outside CEOs “In fact, chief executives hired externally made far more than their counterparts with at least two years' tenure as CEO, according to an analysis conducted by executive compensation research firm Equilar. The difference in compensation reflects the premium companies must pay when they don't have a solid pool of internal candidates ready to step in and run the company, said Equilar research manager Alexander Cwirko-Godycki. 'If you are pulling your CEO from the outside, you are getting someone with experience and a track record.'”

Agenda Magazine, August 4, 2008 Perks Alive and Well in Exec Pay Packages "Dollar values have been somewhat more difficult to calculate. However, Equilar reports that the median value of the 'other compensation' given to CEOs of S&P 500 companies rose 0.9%, from $178,492 in 2006 to $180,094 last year."

Agenda Magazine, August 4, 2008 External CEO Hires Far Pricier: Study "The research, conducted by executive comp research firm Equilar, echoes the findings of a previous Equilar report released last year. The latest results again put a number on what has become a familiar refrain among critics of rising executive pay: that external hires drive up compensation and are a result of a board's failure to groom successors within the company."

Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal, August 1, 2008 Dipping Revenue, Income Contribute to 'Overpaid' Status for CEOs "Although CEOs are still receive big paychecks and stock awards, efforts are underway to link compensation to company performance, said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager for executive compensation consulting company Equilar in Redwood Shores, Calif."

Human Resource Executive Magazine, August 1, 2008 HR's Elite: The Class Of '07 "Equilar Inc., an executive compensation research firm located in Redwood Shores, Calif., produces the ranking of the 50 highest-paid HR executives exclusively for HRE. In all, 238 former and current HR executives were among the five most highly compensated officers in their companies and were, therefore, listed in the SEC filings of the Russell 3000 companies surveyed."

Directorship, July 29, 2008 The Cost of Poor Succession Planning "Externally hired CEOs make 75 percent more than internally-promoted CEOs during their first year, according to a new study by Equilar, an executive compensation data and consulting firm. Poor performers and small companies are the most likely to hire from outside."

The Wall Street Journal, July 28, 2008 Hiring a CEO From the Outside Is More Expensive "Executive-pay tracker Equilar Inc. found that external hires in 2007 and early 2008 received median compensation of $6.6 million, 65% more than the median $4 million for internally promoted CEOs. The compensation figure includes salary, cash bonuses and equity incentives."

The Washington Post, July 28, 2008 Financial Industry's Leaders Among Best Paid in Region "On average, the 100 highest-paid executives received $6.6 million, according to The Post examination. Data were provided by Equilar, an executive compensation research firm in Redwood Shores, Calif. The big factor in getting on the top-100 list was bonuses. Ninety-eight percent of the executives on the list received a bonus averaging $1.47 million."

The Washington Post, July 28, 2008 Behind The Numbers "We asked Equilar, an executive compensation research firm in Redwood Shores, Calif., to compile and analyze pay data. In Equilar's 'Total Compensation' analysis, the 100 highest-paid executives are listed in descending order by total pay."

Agenda Magazine, July 28, 2008 Coke's New CEO Asks for Higher Ownership Target "The median multiple of stock 250 CEOs, executive chairmen and presidents must own was five, according to Equilar's 2007 stock ownership guideline report."

Advertising Age, July 28, 2008 CMOs Snag an Average of $1.5 Million a Year "Mr. Jarvis was lured to Dell last year with a package including a $3 million 'new-hire long-term cash award' and use of a jet to commute between his house in California and Dell offices in Texas. He tops the list of CMOs in a salary survey produced for Ad Age by Equilar, an executive-compensation research firm that analyzes proxy statements and other filings of public companies."

Advertising Age, July 25, 2008 About Executive Compensation Data "Advertising Age asked Equilar, an executive-compensation-research firm, to provide pay data for 100 CMO-level marketing executives and for CEOs of the nation's 10 largest publicly held media companies."

Agenda Magazine, July 21, 2008 What Grasso Case Means for Comp Committees "But the massive public outcry over the size of the award — more than three times the median value ($56.7 million) of 500 CEO stock holdings and accumulated retirement benefits in 2007, according to Equilar — provides a warning lesson: Comp committees that fail to closely monitor the development of severance and retirement packages can expect severe political and investor backlash."

The Commercial Appeal, July 19, 2008 Medtronic CEO Due for Big Pay Raise "Equilar, an executive compensation research firm in Redwood Shores, Calif., used a different method to evaluate the value of the compensation package that year and found it worth $7.1 million. Equilar reviewed compensation packages at medical equipment and device companies with revenues greater than $1 billion and found that the median total direct compensation package was worth $5.4 million, including base salary, bonus, stock and other items."

Corporate Board Member, July 17, 2008 "Clawbacks" of Executive Compensation "In the wake of the SEC's rule changes, there is now more information available about which companies have adopted clawback provisions and the substance of these provisions. A fall 2007 survey by Equilar, Inc. indicates that among 100 companies, the prevalence of disclosed clawback policies increased from 17.6% in 2005 to 42.1% in 2006."

Compliance Week, July 15, 2008 Top Option Grants, Stock Awards in June "According to Equilar, several grants of 'premium-priced' options were awarded in June, an increasingly common compensation practice. Awards are considered premium priced when the exercise price of the grant is higher than the stock price on the grant date. Such awards are not well loved by executives, as the awards are immediately 'underwater,' so the company's stock price has to rise to the level of the exercise price for the award to have any value."

The Tennessean, July 11, 2008 New Genesco CEO's $155,000 Raise Isn't Out of Line "'While Mr. Dennis is certainly getting a nice raise, his new pay package doesn't seem to represent much of a premium,' said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, Equilar's research manager. 'This highlights the fact that it is usually cheaper for a company to promote an executive from within, as opposed to luring in a new chief.'"

MSN, July 9, 2008 Did Oil Execs Luck Into Record Pay? "ExxonMobil chief Rex Tillerson made $21.7 million last year, according to Equilar, an executive compensation research firm. Tillerson's pay included a bonus of $3.36 million. In addition, he was sitting on about $77.9 million worth of unvested incentive stock, thanks to an increase in ExxonMobil's stock price last year to $95 a share from $63."

The Indianapolis Star, July 7, 2008 Add Real Estate to Companies' Exec Perks List "In 2007, 25.3 percent of 100 companies disclosed relocation benefits for CEOs, with a median value of $27,000 for the perk, according to executive compensation research firm Equilar. Also, 7.4 percent of 100 companies disclosed housing or apartment allowances for CEOs, with that perk carrying a median value of $67,671."

Agenda Magazine, July 7, 2008 Boards Playing Catch-Up With Lead Director Pay "The discrepancy is due to the fact that lead directors are not in central leadership positions, says Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager at Equilar. But boards' views on the lead director position appear to be changing, and so is their approach to paying lead directors. The percentage of boards paying a premium for lead directors increased to 45.8% in 2007, from 40.4% in 2006, according to an Equilar study."

Northern Colorado Business Report, July 4, 2008 It Pays to Have the Corner Office "'The base pay is the foundation of a compensation package. It's usually impacted by tenure,' said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager with Equilar, a California-based executive compensation consulting firm. 'Salaries should not be viewed in any way as an indicator of performance.' Instead, the bonus element is usually designed to reflect short-term performance."

Agenda Magazine, June 30, 2008 With 'Say on Pay' Stalled, Alternatives Emerge "According to Equilar, the portion of Fortune 500 companies that look at 'accumulated wealth' stats when setting exec pay rose to 15% for 2007, from 8.4% in 2006, the Journal reports. The SEC is partly responsible for the increase, as the regulator is urging companies to report how past compensation affects their pay practices."

Financial Week, June 27, 2008 Total accumulated CEO wealth increased 6.1% in 2007 from 2006 “According to Equilar, the percentage of companies that disclosed they considered accumulated wealth when setting exec pay increased from 8.4% in 2006 to 14.5% in 2007. The amount of companies saying they did not consider accumulated wealth also increased from 1.5% in 2006 to 3.2% in 2007. The remainder of the companies did not disclose either way.”

Directorship Magazine, June 27, 2008 Study: CEOs Accumulated More Wealth “The review of Compensation Discussion and Analysis (CD&A) reports of Fortune 500 companies by Equilar found an increase in the prevalence of companies that considered accumulated wealth when determining executive pay levels from 8.4 percent in 2006 to 14.5 percent in 2007.”

Cincinnati Business Courier , June 27, 2008 Overpaid Underpaid CEOs “Equilar Inc. studied 233 companies in the S&P 500 where CEOs have been in place for at least two years. Equilar found a 1 percent increase in median pay, down from 6 percent in 2006. Bonuses were down 5 percent for the group, while 12 percent of CEOs received no bonus, triple last year's percentage.”

Cincinnati Business Courier , June 27, 2008 Region's affinity for options diverges from national trend “’That would definitely be counter to broader national trends,’ said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager at Equilar Inc., a compensation research firm in Redwood Shores, Calif. ‘What we've noticed is in a lot of major companies, they're not automatically going back to options, but going to a mix of awards.’”

Philadelphia Inquirer, June 26, 2008 Pay and performance: The view from the top “For the 100 largest Philadelphia-area companies, median CEO pay increased 10.9 percent in 2007, according to data newly compiled for The Inquirer by Equilar Inc., an executive-compensation research firm. Among the same companies, median annual revenue increased 2.7 percent. Chief executives at Philadelphia's largest companies fared better than their counterparts nationally. Median S&P 500 CEO pay increased 1.3 percent, according to Equilar.”

Compliance Week, June 24, 2008 More Companies Opt for Clawback Clauses "So far, most early converts are larger companies. Almost half of the companies with a clawback provision were in the S&P 500, according to TCL. Similarly, a study of Fortune 100 companies published last fall by compensation research firm Equilar showed 42 percent of those companies disclosed a clawback policy in 2006."

The Wall Street Journal, June 22, 2008 Firms Measure a CEO's (Net) Worth "Waddell & Reed is among a growing number of companies scrutinizing how much they have paid executives over time. Nearly 15% of Fortune 500 firms said they took such "accumulated wealth" into account in setting 2007 executive pay, up from 8.4% in 2006, according to data tracker Equilar Inc."

The Indianapolis Star, June 22, 2008 For Hoosier CEOs, '07 pay was plentiful "Most CEOs of publicly traded Hoosier companies (31 out of 53) took home total pay of more than $1 million last year, according to an analysis conducted for The Indianapolis Star by compensation-research company Equilar of Redwood Shores, Calif."

CFO Magazine, June 20, 2008 S&P 500: Tight Times Demand Restricted Shares "For the first time last year, a greater percentage of S&P 500 chief executive officers got restricted stock (78 percent) than stock options (71 percent), according to Equilar, an executive compensation research firm based in Redwood Shores, California. Further, the value of those restricted-stock grants increased by over 10 percent."

SF Business Times, June 20, 2008 Highest Paid CEOs in the Greater Bay Area "In conducting its research, the San Francisco Business Times compared CEO pay packages against company performance for the 100 biggest public companies to create the annual ranking. The source for compensation information was Equilar, Inc."

Fortune Small Business, June 18, 2008 FSB 100: Top 25 Richest Execs "These insiders all own $15 million or more in stock and options in America's fastest growing small public companies. Equilar, an executive-compensation research firm in Redwood Shores, Calif., reviewed proxy statements for firms on our FSB 100 index to compile the list of the 25 richest small company executives."

The New York Times, June 17, 2008 New A.I.G. Chief Plans to Reach Out to Investors "All that is on top of about $24.5 million that Mr. Sullivan had been paid since taking over as chief executive in 2005, according to an analysis by Equilar and Brian Foley, an independent compensation consultant."

Compliance Week, June 17, 2008 Tracing the Past and Future of CEO Pay "A recent Equilar report compiling proxy data from 200 companies with $6.5 billion or more in revenue (with the CEO in place for at least two years) showed executive pay rising 5 percent last year—a year that wasn't exactly thrilling for investors. Not only are they upset about the relationship between pay and stock price, they point to the increasing disparity between the pay of the CEO and rank-and-file employees."

Compliance Week, June 17, 2008 Top Option Grants, Stock Awards in May "According to Equilar, several grants of 'premium-priced' options were awarded in May, an increasingly common compensation practice. Awards are considered premium-priced when the exercise price of the grant is higher than the stock price on the grant date. Such awards are not well loved by executives, as the awards are immediately 'underwater;' the company's stock price has to rise to the level of the exercise price for the award to have any value."

Directorship, June 17, 2008 Oil CEOs Comp Up 4x Industry Average "Equilar, the compensation research consultancy, conducted the analysis for BusinessWeek. While oil prices skyrocket, some analysts tell BW that oil-company CEOs in particular are getting pay raises on factors that don't control, such as the price of oil, rather than 'managerial prowess.'"

Chief Executive Officer Magazine, June 17, 2008 CFO Pay Rise Outpulls CEO Comp "The analysis this year showed that the rate of growth of CFO pay was over three times faster than the rate of growth for CEOs, says David Chun, CEO Equilar, an executive compensation-benchmarking firm based in Redwood Shores, Calif. According to Chun the faster growth in CFO pay is mostly due to Sarbox compliance by the companies."

BusinessWeek, June 17, 2008 Oil CEOs: High Prices, Fat Paychecks "Starting with info provided by Capital IQ, BusinessWeek asked executive compensation research firm Equilar to analyze compensation of the chief executives of the 25 largest publicly traded global oil and gas companies. Equilar's study found that for the 12 CEOs at the largest U.S.-based, publicly traded oil companies, median total compensation increased by more than four times the rate of that of executives in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index as a whole."

Financial Week, June 16, 2008 Warnaco Recoups Pay from Execs After Error "The most common trigger: financial restatements and/or ethical misconduct or negligence. These accounted for the initiation of such policies at more than 75% of Fortune 100 adopters, according to compensation research firm Equilar."

The New York Times, June 16, 2008 With Shares Battered, A.I.G. Ousts Leader "Mr. Sullivan is entitled to at least $15 million of cash severance and a $3.7 million pro-rated bonus, according to corporate filings. He also has retirement benefits worth about $3.75 million. It is up to the board to decide whether he will receive about $10.9 million in restricted stock, which cannot yet be cashed out. All that is on top of about $24.5 million that Mr. Sullivan had been paid since taking over as chief executive in 2005, according to an analysis by Equilar and Brian Foley, an independent compensation consultant."

Financial Week, June 16, 2008 Pensions for Execs Test New Heights "Mr. Gemunder, who has been with the Covington, Ky.-based geriatrics pharmaceutical services company for more than 40 years—including 27 years as president and seven as CEO—has accumulated pension benefits worth $69.2 million, the largest such package at any company in the Fortune 1000, according to an analysis of proxy filings conducted for Financial Week by compensation research firm Equilar."

Agenda Magazine, June 16, 2008 Cash Gains on Stock in Director Pay Packages "Median pay for non-employee directors hit $173,640 in 2007, up 7.2% from $162,000 the previous year. That's according to Equilar, which used information from 425 of the biggest companies. Equilar looked at annual retainers and meeting fees but did not take into account extra payments, such as fees for board leadership roles."

amednews.com, June 16, 2008 What's in Their Wallets? Health Plan Executives Bring Home the Bucks "Almost every CEO of a publicly traded health insurance company made more than the median salary for a top executive in the S&P 500 in 2007. But some analysts think that trend might not continue. Despite growing scrutiny from their own stockholders, among others, last year health plan executives remained among the best-paid business managers, said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager for Equilar, a Redwood Shores, Calif.-based executive compensation research firm."

The Seattle Times, June 14, 2008 Pay for CEOs in the Northwest shot up in 2007 "Companies gave fewer bonuses but more equity awards, according to Equilar. The median grant-date value of new stock and option awards for Northwest CEOs increased 46 percent to $1.1 million. 'As short-term conditions weaken, companies are trying to get executives to focus on long-term goals and recovery,' said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager at Equilar. 'Equity awards with multiyear vesting periods and/or performance-based vesting may help to achieve this.'"

The Seattle Times, June 14, 2008 InfoSpace Chief Tops List of Best-Paid Northwest CEOs "The Northwest's five top-paid CEOs last year received compensation worth a combined $93 million, representing a fourth of the entire value of 140 CEO pay packages in the Washington, Oregon and Idaho region, according to data collected by executive-compensation research firm Equilar."

The Seattle Times, June 14, 2008 Data Used to Rank CEO Pay "The Seattle Times' CEO pay rankings are based on data from Equilar, an executive-compensation research firm near San Francisco. Equilar examined the pay packages of 140 CEOs at publicly traded companies based in Washington, Oregon and Idaho."

Philadelphia Inquirer, June 11, 2008 Compensation of Directors Continues to Rise "Looking for a good-paying job? You could do worse than serve as a director of a Fortune 500 company. Equilar, a compensation research firm, analyzed the pay of directors at Fortune 500 companies. Excluding those who are also employees, researchers found that median director compensation was $173,640 in 2007. That was up 7.2 percent from 2006."

Directorship, June 10, 2008 Fortune 500 Directors Being Paid More "An analysis performed by Equilar of 425 Fortune 500 companies showed that director compensation increased by more than seven percent in 2007. Director compensation included annual retainers and meeting fees paid for regular board duties."

The Wall Street Journal, June 10, 2008 Companies Promise CEOs Lavish Posthumous Paydays "A recent study of 93 big companies found that 17% offered severance-style death benefits to their chief executives in 2006, while 40% provided corporate-funded life insurance. Equilar Inc., a research firm in Redwood Shores, Calif., did the study. CEO deaths, though uncommon, do happen."

Portfolio Magazine, June 9, 2008 Directors' Pay Shifts to Cash From Stock "While the workload may have increased over the past few years, so too has the pay. The median compensation for such directors was $173,640 last year, a healthy increase of 7.2 percent over 2006. The information was compiled by Equilar, the executive and director compensation benchmarking company, which used data from 425 of the top companies."

San Jose Business Journal, June 9, 2008 Survey: Fortune 500 Director Pay Up 7.2% "The median amount of compensation for company directors jumped 7.2 percent in 2007 to $173,640, according to a survey released Monday. Redwood City-based Equilar Inc., which provides benchmarking information for executive and director compensation produced the study."

Agenda Magazine, June 9, 2008 Prevalence of CFO Bonuses Declines "According to an analysis by Equilar, the prevalence of discretionary, annual incentive and long-term incentive bonuses all declined for CFOs from 2006 to 2007. At S&P 500 companies, the prevalence of annual incentive payouts, which form the bulk of bonus compensation, fell from 83.7 percent to 79.6 percent."

San Jose Mercury News, June 9, 2008 Pay for Directors Rising Faster Than CEO, CFO Comp "It looks like the Fortune 500 directors are raising their own pay at a faster clip than the compensation they dole out to the chief executives of the companies on whose boards they serve, based on an analysis of pay trends for non-employee directors published by Equilar, an executive compensation benchmarking firm."

San Jose Mercury News, June 8, 2008 What the Boss Makes "This table presents the 2007 compensation for 147 chief executives heading Silicon Valley's largest companies based on revenue. The data was compiled from proxy filings made by May 30 and analyzed by Equilar, an executive compensation research firm based in Redwood Shores. Total compensation is the sum of all cash-based and stock-based compensation awarded during the year."

South Florida Sun-Sentinel, June 8, 2008 CEOs' Pay Dropped with South Florida Companies' Fortunes in 2007 "The raises were slim and the bonuses few, but most CEOs of area public companies still took home total pay in 2007of more than half a million dollars — with many pocketing tens of millions. Cash, stock, incentive pay and perks for chief executives of South Florida-based companies, or those with a major presence of employees, were compiled for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel by Equilar, a California firm that tracks executive compensation trends."

Dow Jones Newswire, June 6, 2008 Multiple Trouble: Share-Ownership Targets Get Harder To Hit "More firms than ever are faced with the issue. Nearly 80% of Fortune 250 firms set share-ownership requirements as a multiple of pay in fiscal 2006, up from about 75% the year before, according to Equilar Inc., a Redwood City, Calif., executive-compensation research firm."

WIB Directors Digest, June 4, 2008 CEO Compensation Trends: Pay and Performance "With the 2008 proxy season drawing to a close, we are now in an excellent position to examine executive compensation trends from 2006 and 2007. For the first time, two years of data under the new SEC regulations are available, allowing for a more detailed analysis of changes in pay practices. Additionally, the difficult economic conditions faced at the end of 2007, particularly by financial firms, can provide some insight into one of the hottest topics in executive compensation: the link between pay and performance." (Written by Equilar research analyst David Sasaki)

The New York Times, June 3, 2008 Wachovia Forces Out Its Chief "For Mr. Thompson, the news brings a sudden end to an eight-year run as chief executive. Wachovia is billing his departure as a "retirement" and will give him an exit package worth $34.5 million, the bulk in accumulated stock, according to James F. Reda & Associates. Mr. Thompson was paid more than $44.3 million since 2000, according to an analysis by Equilar CEO David Chun."

The Washington Post, June 3, 2008 Wachovia Ousts Top Executive "Thomson, 58, joined Wachovia in 1976 and had been at its helm for the past eight years. He will receive a severance package worth $8.7 million, according to Equilar, an executive-compensation research firm. The amount includes $7.2 million of all unvested restricted stock and 16 months of salary, or $1.5 million. He will also be reimbursed for up to $50,000 of legal expenses incurred while negotiating his retirement agreement, as well as office space and an executive assistant for three years at the company's headquarters."

New Jersey Business, June 2, 2008 Falling Bonuses Keep CEO Compensation Flat at Best "For CEOs of S&P 500 companies, the median compensation was flat from 2006 to 2007, says Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager at executive compensation research firm Equilar , Inc. of Calif. During that period, median compensation for CEOs in place at least two years grew by 1.3 percent to $8.8 million, reports Equilar, which defines compensation as a mix of payouts including salary, bonuses and stock-related awards."

Agenda Magazine, June 2, 2008 How HR Fits Into Pay-Setting Process "HR's role in balancing the views of the board and management on executive compensation is a 'critical' one, Pat McGurn of RiskMetrics Group told Human Resources Executive Online after a session he co-presented with Equilar CEO David Chun."

Directorship, June 1, 2008 CD&A: The Second Time Around "A separate study on disclosure, conducted by Equilar, finds it's becoming more common for Fortune 100 companies to disclose performance targets they expect executives to meet. Disclosing actual targets, which helps explain why executives deserve the compensation packages they receive, increased from 56 percent last year to 66 percent."

The Tennessean, June 1, 2008 Tennessee's CEOs Pull in Hefty Salaries "Among trends in compensation of CEOs of Tennessee's public companies, average bonuses of the 39 executives whose compensation could be compared year over year fell 18.5 percent to $549,785. Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager at Equilar, wasn't surprised because bonuses are often tied directly to short-term performance, which was affected by the stock market's decline during the second half of last year."

The Tennessean, June 1, 2008 Compensation of Tennessee Chief Executive Officers "To examine chief executive officer compensation trends, The Tennessean hired Equilar Inc., an executive compensation research firm in Redwood Shores, Calif., to compile data from public filings. The Equilar analysis uses data disclosed in the Summary Compensation Table of recent proxy filings for each company."

Chicago Tribune, May 30, 2008 Adding Up What CEOs Made "To examine compensation trends, the Chicago Tribune asked Equilar Inc., an executive compensation research firm based in Redwood Shores, Calif., to gather data on the pay of chief executives of the 100 largest public companies in Illinois and northwest Indiana, as determined by market capitalization on March 31."

Workforce Management, May 30, 2008 CFOs Got Bigger Pay Increases Than CEOs Last Year "More than half the overall CFO compensation consisted of equity awards, which rose 8.2 percent to a median of $1.5 million in 2007, according to the study of 313 companies by Equilar, an executive compensation research firm. Base salaries grew 9.1 percent to $525,000."

Financial Week, May 30, 2008 CFOs Got Bigger Pay Hikes Than CEOs Last Year "Median pay for chief financial officers at large U.S. companies jumped 5.2% last year, to $2.9 million, a study released yesterday shows. 'Rising pay may indicate increasing visibility and risk for CFOs,' Equilar research manager Alexander Cwirko-Godycki said in an interview. 'And growth in stock compensation may be an attempt to lock up CFOs for the long term as the job gets tougher.'"

CFO Magazine, May 29, 2008 CFO Pay Raises Top CEO Hikes "Median CFO pay increased by 5.2 percent in 2007, to $2,894,275 from the prior year's $2,752,027, according to a new Equilar study of Standard & Poor's 500 companies. The executive compensation specialist noted that median total equity compensation actually jumped 8.2 percent, while median bonus payouts dropped 3.4 percent to bring down the total."

Portfolio.com, May 29, 2008 Rising Pay of Chief Financial Officers "The median C.F.O. compensation rose to $2,894,275 in 2007 from $2,752,027 in 2006, according to Equilar, in Redwood Shores, California. 'The C.F.O.'s role is getting more complex and more visible,' said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, spokesman for Equilar. In part, that's a reflection, he noted, of Sarbanes-Oxley requirements for signing off on public disclosure statements."

San Jose Business Journal, May 29, 2008 Survey: Median CFO total compensation at $2.9M "Executive compensation benchmarking company Equilar Inc. said Thursday a recent study showed that the median overall compensation for chief financial officers increased by 5.2 percent from 2006 to 2007. Redwood City-based Equilar said the study covered 313 S&P 500 chief financial officers in place for at least two years."

Directorship, May 27, 2008 Investors' Push for Say on Pay Stall "In response to shareholder concerns that pay be linked to performance, more performance-based long-term incentives gained popularity. Directorship reported on a recent Equilar study which found that executive performance targets were on the rise. Sixty-eight percent of companies disclosed specific performance targets that executives were required to meet in order to receive their payouts."

Automotive News, May 26, 2008 Bad times? Not for CEO paychecks "For CEOs in the auto industry, hard times didn't necessarily translate to low pay in 2007. That was especially true for CEOs of parts suppliers. Take Alexander Cutler of Eaton Corp., a maker of truck and automotive parts. He was the industry's top-earning CEO, according to Automotive News' annual executive compensation survey of about 35 publicly traded automakers, parts suppliers and dealership groups in North America. Equilar Inc. compiled the data."

Automotive News, May 26, 2008 What Counts "The compensation list is based on data compiled for Automotive News by Equilar Inc., an executive compensation research firm in San Mateo, Calif. Equilar analyzed proxy statements and other filings of public companies. Automotive News defines total compensation as the amount an executive received in 2007. It consists of base salary, bonuses, incentive plan compensation, exercised stock options, vested stock awards and other compensation."

Palm Beach Post, May 25, 2008 Executive Compensation Picture is Murkier Than Ever "Just how much did Office Depot Chief Executive Steve Odland make last year? In today's more-disclosure-is-better regulatory climate, the answer is far from clear. The Associated Press and prominent compensation firm Equilar both peg Odland's pay at $17.8 million. Bloomberg News says it's $12.9 million, a figure echoed by the compensation table in Office Depot's proxy."

Los Angeles Times, May 23, 2008 For CEOs a Reversal of Fortunes "After years of steady increases in compensation for chief executives — and steadily growing shareholder dissatisfaction — something different happened last year: CEO pay actually declined. The Los Angeles Times' annual survey of executive compensation found that California's 100 biggest companies paid 10% less, on average, to their top executives in 2007 than they did the year before." See the complete Equilar analysis here.

Fox Business, May 23, 2008 Here's Why Yahoo! Postponed its Investor Meeting "Also, the Sunnyvale Internet firm handed more money to its top executives than any other Bay Area public company in 2006, according to The San Francisco Chronicle's annual survey of executive pay at 200 local companies. Yahoo Inc.'s top five executives raked in $135 million in that year (mostly in restricted stock and stock options), though down from $155 million the year before, according to calculations from Equilar, a San Mateo research firm that specializes in executive compensation."

Human Resource Executive Online, May 23, 2008 HR Plays the 'Critical Role' "HR leaders play 'the critical role' in executive compensation as they balance the competing ideas and strategies of a company's board and its management. So said Patrick McGurn, of RiskMetrics Group, formerly Institutional Shareholder Services, after a session he co-presented with David Chun, CEO of Equilar entitled 'Emerging Executive Compensation Trends' during the Total Rewards 2008 WorldatWork Conference being held May 20 to 23 at the Philadelphia Convention Center."

World at Work, May 22, 2008 The Philadelphia (Conference) Story "Wednesday after the opening keynote, I attended an executive comp session featuring David Chun of Equilar and Pat McGurn of RiskMetrics Group (you might know them as ISS). It was an outstanding presentation in a lot of ways. Chun noted that median total compensation for CEOs at S&P 500 firms in 2007 was $8.8 million. That's a still big number to be sure, but only up 1.3% over the year prior."

Work Span, May 22, 2008 CEO Bonuses Down "A study of 108 companies with revenues over $1 billion and fiscal years ending on or after Aug. 31, 2007, finds that the median CEO bonus declined by 4.5 percent from 2006 to 2007. For the same executives, bonuses had increased by 27.1 percent from 2005 to 2006, according to Equilar's latest issue of Executive Compensation Trends."

Crain's Detroit Business, May 20, 2008 Outgoing Visteon CEO to Get $2.5 Million Payout "He was to receive the full $2.5 million if he stayed on through Dec. 31 or was fired without cause. But the new payout reflects an amendment Visteon's board made to that deal last week when it announced Johnston's resignation. Visteon spokeswoman Julie Fream said the board thought the change was necessary 'to ensure an orderly transition' from Johnston to his successor, current president and COO Donald Stebbins. Johnston took home $8.9 million last year, according to calculations conducted by Equilar Inc. for Automotive News."

Agenda Magazine, May 19, 2008 Director Perks Disappearing as SEC Forces Change "The most recent research from Equilar indicates that 16.1% of Fortune 100 companies eliminated some perks in 2006 or by the start of 2007. Compensation consultants believe that number has only grown over the last year. Interestingly, the SEC's call for greater disclosure regarding director compensation did not come from investors. In fact, investors were quite happy with the amount of information companies were disclosing, sources say."

Agenda Magazine, May 19, 2008 Ford Adds Unique Peer-Group Graphic "Ford Motor has taken the use of graphics in compensation disclosures to a new level. The company offers investors pie charts to compare its mix of executive pay elements to that of its peer group, according to a new study of 2008 disclosures by Equilar. In doing so, Ford addresses two areas of concern expressed by the SEC: peer-group disclosure and use of graphics and charts."

Directorship, May 19, 2008 More Companies Reveal Targets "A study released last week by Equilar, the executive compensation research firm in Redwood Shores, Calif., found that among the companies with annual bonus plans, 68 percent disclosed specific performance targets that executives were required to meet in order to receive their payouts."

Pioneer Press, May 17, 2008 Pay Pipeline Still Pumping for CEOs "Last year, median CEO pay increased just 1.3 percent at 233 SP 500 companies where CEOs were in place for at least two years, according to an April report from Equilar Inc., a California-based firm that tracks compensation trends. But there may have been a few more Hummers pulling up to the pump in the Equilar analysis, since median compensation in the study was $8.8 million."

Pioneer Press, May 17, 2008 Steer This Firm, Get a Fast Sled: Perks Add Up "Until recently, companies weren't required to disclose side benefits worth less than $50,000, said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki of Equilar Inc., a California company that benchmarks executive compensation practices. But reporting requirements that took effect in December 2006 have provided more visibility for smaller perks. 'You're getting a much better itemized list of which perks are in place,' Cwirko-Godycki said. 'You're starting to get the granular data.'"

Forbes, May 16, 2008 Willie Walsh: European Trend Setter "In the U.S. however there has been a noticeable increase in the number of top executives giving up their bonus since the start of the year, according to Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager at California-based Equilar, which conducts research on executive compensation. In the first three months of 2008, eight chief executives of major U.S. companies, including Bear Stearns, Morgan Stanley and First American agreed to forgo their bonuses, compared to 4 for the previous twelve months, according to Equilar's research. Six out of the eight were in the financial sector and followed significant losses relating to the subprime mortgage crisis."

The New York Times DealBook, May 15, 2008 Team Icahn: Who's Running for Yahoo's Board "Ironically, Yahoo's current chief is, in some sense, the antithesis of the classic overpaid chief. Jerry Yang, one of Yahoo's founders, got a salary of $1 in 2007 and no annual bonus. (Mr. Bebchuk might have a bigger bone to pick with Mr. Yang's precessor, Terry Semel, who realized gains around $451 million from stock options and other pay while at Yahoo, according to Equilar, making him one of the highest paid executives in the nation.)"

CBNC Business Nation, May 15, 2008 Parting Shot: CEO Pay Commentary (Video) "The actual numbers show that, in most cases, CEO pay is not out of whack at all. Equilar, a research firm looked at CEO compensation at 233 big companies. They found that last year, their median pay rose by only 1.3 percent, even as their companies' revenue and stock prices rose at a much higher rate, up almost 8.0 percent on average. And their bonuses went down by 5.0 percent last year."

Bureau of National Affairs, May 14, 2008 Executive Pay Disclosures Get Graphic: 2008 Proxies Find Ways to Show Their Stuff "As the report notes, the 2008 CD&As have changed in response to changing economic conditions, the SEC's review of 2007 filings, and the agency's continued emphasis on disclosure of performance targets (24 PBD, 2/6/08). The report "highlights interesting and outstanding examples of CD&A disclosure practices from fiscal 2007," according to Equilar."

Compliance Week, May 13, 2008 Top Option Grants, Stock Awards in April "According to Equilar, several grants of 'premium-priced' options were awarded in April, an increasingly common compensation practice. Awards are considered premium-priced when the exercise price of the grant is higher than the stock price on the grant date. Such awards are not well loved by executives, as the awards are immediately 'underwater;' the company's stock price has to rise to the level of the exercise price for the award to have any value."

Advertising Age, May 12, 2008 John Wren Tops the List of Ad World's Big Earners "Median CEO pay last year among S&P 500 companies increased 3% between 2006 and 2007, rising from $1 million to $1.03 million, according to a study released last month by Equilar, a Redwood Shores, Calif.-based executive-compensation-research firm. Average total compensation was $8.8 million. 'CEO pay growth has slowed down a bit, linked to economic conditions,' said Equilar spokesman Alexander Cwirko-Godycki. 'Bonuses were down almost across the board in most industries.'"

Treasury & Risk Magazine, May 8, 2008 New Challenges Shape Pay Levels "The chief driver of that decline was in annual performance-based bonuses, which were down 8.2%. 'For finance chiefs, like other executives, this has been a turbulent year on the compensation front,' says Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager at Equilar. 'Overall pay levels are climbing at a slower rate than past years, and bonus compensation appears to be down.'"

The Washington Post, May 6, 2008 Say-on-Pay Movement Loses Steam "In 2007, 42 percent of the compensation for chief executives of companies in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index was linked directly to predetermined performance goals, compared with 40 percent in 2006 for the same group of executives, according to Equilar, an executive-compensation research firm. Stock options were not counted as part of performance-based pay. Over the same period, the number of Fortune 100 companies disclosing specific performance targets for executives increased from 56 to 66 percent, Equilar said."

The Indianapolis Star, May 5, 2008 Exec Pay is Smorgasbord of Handouts "Average annual total compensation for the chief executive of Standard & Poor's 500 companies was $8.83 million last year, according to compensation research firm Equilar. That's about 194 times greater than Indiana's median household income of $45,394. Median S&P 500 CEO salary reached $1.03 million."

San Francisco Chronicle, May 5, 2008 Web Salary Charts Tell All, and We Love It "The federal Securities and Exchange Commission implemented new rules last year designed to make corporations report their executive pay in plain English, Challenger said. In theory, this has made it easier for the average citizen to figure out what Equilar, an executive compensation firm on the Peninsula, reported in April: That the median compensation for a top corporate chief executive officer jumped to $8.8 million last year from $8.7 million in 2006 — even though the bonuses they received for doing well were down to a measly $1.8 million."

Toledo Blade, May 4, 2008 Local CEOs Feel Effects of Slower Economy "Mr. Kinzel, at Cedar Fair, received the biggest bonus in the area, $1.2 million. But Fred Klipsch, vice chairman of Health Care REIT, received a bonus of $1.2 million that was labeled a "finder's fee" for a real estate transaction he helped generate. Performance-based bonuses were down and discretionary bonuses not linked to performance were up — in general by 5 percent — among 200 larger firms studied by Equilar, a compensation research firm."

Pittsburgh Business Times, May 2, 2008 Pittsburgh Compensation Packages are Focused on Rewarding Success "A study by Equilar Inc., a Redwood Shores, Calif.-based executive compensation research firm, said more public companies are increasingly tying CEOs' rewards to their performance. The percentage of total shares awarded to Fortune 500 CEOs, who are given shares based on performance criteria set by their respective boards, was 8.2 percent at the end of 2006 but rose to 14.7 percent at the close of 2007."

Bloomberg, April 30, 2008 CBS's Moonves Gets Triple Pay of Viacom's Dauman "To put the pay packages of Dauman and Moonves into perspective, I compared them with the CEOs of 500 other companies, all with market values of $3 billion or more. Data for this study were obtained from Equilar Inc. After controlling for differences in company size, as measured by net sales, and for differences in pay risk, as measured by the percentage of options in the pay package, I found that Dauman's $22 million pay package was 94 percent above a competitive level, ranking him as the 40th-highest-paid CEO."

Fox Business News, April 29, 2008 In Search of: Citigroup's Robert Rubin "Rubin has a largely non-operational role at Citi. He doesn't oversee a P&L for any division. As he hobnobs with the likes of former US president Bill Clinton and former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, Rubin provides guidance to bank executives, works with clients, and is considered to be a sterling name Citi can use to lure clients and smooth out problems with regulators. Rubin is paid handsomely for his work, Citi sources say. As the Times has reported, Citi has paid Rubin $126.1m since 1999, according to Equilar, a research outfit. Citi confirmed that number."

The New York Times, April 28, 2008 Where Was the Wise Man? "That meant, he says, a position that didn't carry direct management responsibilities and allowed him to serve as elder financial statesman — albeit one who was lavishly paid. Since arriving at Citigroup, Mr. Rubin has been awarded compensation worth at least $126.1 million, according to Equilar, a research firm. That would place him firmly in the top 25 percent of earners if compared to the chief executives of Fortune 500 companies."

The Indianapolis Star, April 28, 2008 Exec Auto Perk Eases Burden of Gas Price's Rise "Hoosier companies are hardly alone. According to executive compensation research firm Equilar, 68 percent of Fortune 250 companies gave an automobile allowance — with a median value of $18,708 — to their CEOs. The trend of providing extra car cash may be waning, though. Bristol-Myers Squibb and KB Home are among companies recently to cut perks such as car allowances and financial-planning assistance, according to Equilar Research Manager Alexander Cwirko-Godycki."

Agenda Magazine, April 28, 2008 Disclosure of Performance Goals up Sharply "The prevalence of Fortune 100 companies with incentive plans that disclosed performance targets increased from 55.8% in fiscal 2006 to 66.4% in fiscal 2007, according to research firm Equilar. The increase was even larger for companies with annual bonus plans. That figure rose from 44% to 68.3%. Among the companies revealing figures are Allstate, Dupont, Motorola and Wachovia. 'It's been a major point of emphasis for the SEC over the last year,' says Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager at Equilar."

Maryland Daily Record, April 24, 2008 New SEC Rules Make it Harder to Figure Out What CEOs Take Home "According to Equilar's analysis, at least one executive on this list made double what his company reported for 2007 and another made 22 percent less than his firm calculated because Equilar does not include pension value changes or deferred earnings in its breakdown. That helped to account for the $6.8 million difference from what Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin Corp. reported as chairman, president and CEO Robert J. Stevens' compensation and the findings of the research firm."

Investment Dealer's Digest, April 21, 2008 Salary Scrutiny "Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager at Equilar, an executive-compensation research firm, notes that in its current form, most say on pay proposals are non-binding, meaning that companies do not necessarily have to change their pay practices after a negative result. However, like withholding votes for directors, even non-binding results can send a strong message to companies and act as a catalyst for change, he says."

Investment News, April 21, 2008 Firms Hit Executives in Wallet "The average chief executive received a $1.7 million bonus last year, a nearly 42% decrease from $2.9 million in 2006, according to an analysis of the compensation packages of the chief executives at 36 financial services companies by Equilar Inc. an executive-compensation research firm. The average base salary rose just 2.7% to $963,875 last year, according to Equilar."

Bloomberg, April 16, 2008 Comcast's Two Roberts Gorge, Shareholders Starve "Brian Roberts has an effective base salary of $4.8 million, consisting of his $2.6 million paid currently and another $2.2 million deferred. In a search of CEO base salaries in 6,888 companies followed by Equilar Inc., I could find only a single CEO who had a higher base salary. That was News Corp.'s Rupert Murdoch, with a base of $8.1 million. Perhaps not coincidentally, News Corp. is in Comcast's pay comparator group."

Reuters, April 15, 2008 More Executives Think CEO Pay is Too High "There are some signs, however, that companies are becoming better at linking CEO pay with their performance and growth. While the median compensation for U.S. large-company chief executives who had been in their jobs at least two years increased 1.3 percent last year to $8.8 million, the rate of growth has slowed, according to a report from Equilar, an executive compensation research firm."

Compliance Week, April 15, 2008 Top Option Grants, Stock Awards in March "According to Equilar, several grants of 'premium-priced' options were awarded in March, an increasingly common compensation practice. Awards are considered premium-priced when the exercise price of the grant is higher than the stock price on the grant date. Such awards are not well loved by executives, as the awards are immediately 'underwater;' the company's stock price has to rise to the level of the exercise price for the award to have any value."

Reuters, April 14, 2008 U.S. Manufacturing CEO Pay Up, but Grows More Slowly "Some of the largest companies in the sector, including diversified conglomerate General Electric Co and manufacturer Honeywell International Inc, cut the pay packages of their top executives, Equilar Inc, an executive compensation research firm, said on Monday. 'Pay is up, but by a small amount and it grew at a slower rate than the year before,' said Equilar analyst Alexander Cwirko-Godycki. 'Pay packages reflect the turbulent situation right now, in that bonuses are down across the board.'"

The Wall Street Journal, April 14, 2008 Shared Goals "According to Equilar Inc., a Redwood Shores, Calif., executive-compensation research firm, about three-quarters of Fortune 250 companies surveyed in 2006 had executive stock-ownership guidelines. Typically, the guidelines require or strongly encourage chief executives and other senior managers to invest between one and 10 times their annual base salary in their company's stock, within three to five years of employment."

The Wall Street Journal, April 14, 2008 Terminated? Who Cares? "It is a slow process, as these packages are still sacred cows at many firms. And even at companies that have reduced potential severance payouts, CEOs stand to become multimillionaires if they are terminated without cause or following a merger. Nevertheless, at two-thirds of large companies, CEOs would receive cash severance worth three times their current base salary plus three times their bonus following a change in control, according to Equilar Inc., an executive-compensation research firm in Redwood Shores, Calif."

Christian Science Monitor, April 14, 2008 At Work, the Best Bottom Line is an Evenhanded One "New figures on executive pay, compiled by the compensation research firm Equilar, are likely to further erode some employees' and shareholders' trust. They show that compensation for CEOs at 200 companies averages $11.7 million. Bonuses average $2.8 million."

Portfolio, April 11, 2008 Believe It or Not: Average Joes Trump C.E.O.s in Pay "Did C.E.O. compensation gains fall behind that of other Americans? The median pay for 233 chief execs of S&P 500 companies who were in office for at least two years rose 1.3 percent last year, according to an updated analysis by executive compensation research firm Equilar."

Portfolio, April 11, 2008 Rest Easy. C.E.O. Pay Is Holding Up "Things may not be hunky-dory for companies or the investors who own them, but chief executive compensation is holding fast. Indeed, according to the compensation consultants at Equilar, median C.E.O. pay rose by 1.3 percent, to a still comfortable $8,828,589, last year. Equilar, based in Redwood Shores, California, came up with those figures by reviewing the proxy statements of 233 members of the S&P 500-stock index."

Reuters, April 10, 2008 Median CEO pay climbs 1.3 percent in 2007 "The median compensation for U.S. large-company chief executives who have been in their jobs at least two years increased 1.3 percent last year to $8.8 million, according to a study released on Thursday. While CEO pay levels are still rising, the rate of growth has slowed, according to the report from Equilar, an executive compensation research firm."

Portfolio, April 10, 2008 More Say About Pay "A new study by Equilar, an executive compensation benchmarking company shows that over all disclosure is up among Fortune 100 companies. At the same time, more are detailing specific performance targets for their executives to meet. This covers all types of compensation plans. From 2006 to 2007, the number of companies doing so rose about 10 percentage points, to 66.4 percent, according to an Equilar review of filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission."

Directorship, April 10, 2008 More Disclosure of Financial Targets "A study released by Equilar also found that Fortune 100 companies which issued annual bonus plans for their executives, disclosed the performance targets their executives met to earn their payouts. Such disclosure detail increased from 44 percent in 2006 to 68 percent in 2007."

CNBC, April 9, 2008 CEO Pay: Are They Worth It? (Video) "These CEO pay numbers are from a preliminary study by Equilar that will be released tomorrow. Equilar tallied-up the total compensation of the 233 CEOs of the S&P 500 companies who filed their proxies so far this year. Equilar says that a decline in short-term cash bonuses and smaller stock option grants were behind the meager pay raise."

The Wall Street Journal, April 7, 2008 More CEOs Are Saying No (Voluntarily) to Bonuses "The heads of at least eight major U.S. companies — ranging from Bear Stearns Cos. to Zions Bancorp — turned down last year's bonus, while a ninth requested a shrunken one, a study of recent regulatory disclosures shows. 'Those numbers are likely to increase as more proxy statements appear,' says Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager at Equilar Inc., which did the study for The Wall Street Journal. By contrast, only four CEOs of the 1,000 biggest businesses curbed their fiscal 2006 bonuses, Equilar found."

CIO Magazine, April 7, 2008 A Closer Look at High-Tech Executives' Big Paydays in 2007 "At the top of the list is Oracle's bold and brash leader, Larry Ellison. He took home $61 million in total compensation in 2007, which was a 100 percent increase from his 2006 total compensation. The compensation data on the CEOs comes from a recent article in The New York Times that offered accounting breakdowns and comparative analysis of chief executive pay at 200 companies with revenues of at least $6.5 billion. The data was gathered by compensation researcher Equilar."

Financial Week, April 7, 2008 Free Agent Jensen Can Write Own Ticket "And Mr. Jenson, for one, has already succeeded in getting paid better than most CFOs, and to a lesser degree, even some CEOs: Mr. Jenson's total compensation of $5.6 million ranks him as the 61st highest paid CFO, according to Financial Week data. By comparison, this pay package is not too far below the median compensation of $8.5 million that was doled out to CEOs at S&P 500 companies, according to data from compensation research firm Equilar."

Agenda Magazine, April 7, 2008 Can CEOs Own Too Much of the Company's Stock? "Currently, 76% of Fortune 250 companies require named executives to own a prescribed minimum of company stock, according to Equilar, an executive compensation research firm. The median level for these Fortune 250 CEOs is five times their base salary in stock."

Agenda Magazine, April 7, 2008 CEO Performance Bonuses Fall Amid Market Turbulence "At 178 companies with annual revenues of more than $1 billion, the median value of CEO bonuses linked to annual performance plans for 2007 dropped 18.6%, according to compensation research firm Equilar. Such bonuses came at fewer companies, too, down to 70.4% from 77.5% in 2006. Equilar concluded its research in March and based it on the SEC's new compensation disclosure rules."

The New York Times, April 6, 2008 A Brighter Spotlight, Yet the Pay Rises "The compensation research firm Equilar recently compiled data about chief executive pay at 200 companies that filed their proxies by March 28 and had revenues of at least $6.5 billion. And the data illustrates Mr. Hodgson's point. It shows that average compensation for chief executives who had held the job at least two years rose 5 percent in 2007, to $11.2 million (If new C.E.O.'s are counted, that number is $11.7 million)."

The New York Times, April 6, 2008 In the Boardroom, Every Back Gets Scratched "Goldman's chief, Lloyd C. Blankfein, was paid $54 million last year. To be sure, the firm did well in 2007, but the stock has been tanking. It's now at $175.40, down from $250.70 on Oct. 31. Similarly, Stephen A. Schwarzman of Blackstone, which has lost about 40 percent of its value in the past six months, got more than $350 million. This is a company that has been a nightmare for investors since its debut last year as a public company. Pay at this level is art. Blackstone wasn't included in Equilar's compensation survey because its revenues were below $6.5 billion."

The New York Times, April 6, 2008 Calculating the Pay Figures "To measure the amounts that executives were paid last year, Sunday Business asked Equilar Inc., an executive compensation research firm, to compile and analyze the compensation data included in the corporate filings of 200 large public companies that had revenues of more than $6.5 billion, and that had filed their proxies by March 28 this year."

San Jose Mercury News, March 30, 2008 Applied executives hit option window "The popularity of 10b5-1 plans, which were first adopted in 2000, has been growing. A report by Equilar, a Bay Area research firm that benchmarks trends in executive and board pay, shows that the number of Fortune 500 companies with active 10b5-1 plans for executive officers increased from 28.7 percent in 2006 to 31.8 percent in 2007."

Reuters, March 28, 2008 U.S. CEO bonuses hit by rough market conditions "'It's the first time in several years that we are seeing declines in CEO bonus payouts,' said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager at Redwood Shores, California-based Equilar. 'Those declines are being led by a pretty steep drop in annual performance-based bonuses.' The median value of annual performance-based bonuses awarded to CEOs covered by the report fell 18.6 percent in 2007. These awards were given based on an executive's performance in the year based on various measures set by the company's board."

Financial Week, March 28, 2008 Performance-based bonuses down, discretionary bonus up in '07 "While the individual CEOs included in the study did not see a decline in their paychecks last year, the total CEO compensation paid out by the 178 companies declined 4.7% in 2007 (from $393.5 million to $375.1 million). And only 70.4% of the CEOs in the group received a performance-based award last year, down from 77.5% in 2006. 'Performance-based bonuses are down, both in terms of median value and prevalence, which broadly indicates a positive connection between pay and performance,' said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager at Equilar."

Portfolio, March 28, 2008 Guess Who's Making Less These Days? "The median value of such bonuses tied to annual performance plans for 2007 fell by 18.6 percent, according to a study completed in March. Equilar, a Redwood Shores, California, executive compensation benchmarking company, gleaned the information from new compensation data required by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Fewer companies were handing them out, too: 70.4 percent last year compared with 77.5 percent in 2006."

Bloomberg, March 26, 2008 Chenault Was No. 1 in 2007 Pay, Buffett Lowest "$12.1 million. That's the average total compensation in 2007 for a chief executive officer at the 107 largest U.S.-based companies who have so far released their proxy statements. The pay increase was 12 percent from 2006. Pay ranged from a low of $175,000 for Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. to the $56 million for Kenneth Chenault of American Express Co. Compensation data for this study was obtained from Equilar Inc."

Footnoted.org, March 26, 2008 Meet Marvel's Newest Superheroes "A quick skim of the proxy filed late yesterday shows that Marvel's board has some super-sized salaries. Three directors made over $300K last year and one — Chairman Morton Handel — made more than the company's CFO did last year. Just to be clear, we're talking about cash fees here, which according to a study by Equilar have remained flat as companies shift to more performance-based compensation. At Marvel, adding stock awards makes the figures even higher."

Agenda Magazine, March 24, 2008 Board Adds Clawback for Director Pay "Arkansas Best has adopted a clawback for director compensation. That's according to research by Equilar. While clawbacks for executive pay have become more prevalent over the last few years amid shareholder pressure and an increasing number of restatements, such policies have been rare for director compensation. Wal-Mart added one a couple of years ago after one of its former executives and directors was caught stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the company. The provision allowed the company to recoup up to two years of a director's compensation for gross misconduct."

Agenda Magazine, March 24, 2008 As Clawbacks Grow in Popularity, Specifics Vary "Equilar research finds that 42.1% of Fortune 100 companies had disclosed a clawback policy in 2006, up from 17.6% a year earlier, according to Financial Week. Shareholder pressure and a rash of restatements are adding pressure on boards to adopt the policies. Financial restatements, ethical misconduct, negligence, or some combination of the three reportedly constitute the most common trigger for clawbacks and are used by 77.5% of adopters, according to Equilar's research."

The New York Times DealBook, March 17, 2008 What to Do With Bear's C.E.O.? "JPMorgan Chase is obviously acquiring a lot in its $236 million purchase of Bear Stearns. For pennies on the dollar, the banking giant is buying extensive prime brokerage and clearing operations, as well as a $1.2 billion office building. ... Mr. Schwartz has been paid handsomely for his services. From 1993 through 2007, he was paid more than $160 million, according to Equilar, an executive compensation research firm. Should he decide to leave, Mr. Schwartz is unlikely to receive the kind of big payout that is known as a 'golden parachute'."

The New York Times, March 17, 2008 JP Morgan Pays $2 a Share for Bear Stearns "James E. Cayne, Bear Stearns's former chief executive and one of its largest individual shareholder, will likely walk away with a little more than $13.4 million, the value of his Bear stock holdings, according to James F. Reda & Associates. Those would have been worth $1.2 billion in January 2007, when Bear's stock was trading at a $171.51. Mr. Cayne has taken home more than $232 million in salary, bonus and other pay between 1993 and 2006, the time period for which there is publicly available data, according to Equilar, an executive compensation research firm."

Financial Week, March 17, 2008 Corporations Claw Their Way Into Investors' Good Graces "The most common trigger for these recoupment policies (77.5% of the adopters) is financial restatements and/or ethical misconduct or negligence, said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, Equilar's research manager. 'The more prevalent these policies become, the easier it is for boards to make the case that they need to adopt their own,' Mr. Cwirko-Godycki said."

The New York Times, March 14, 2008 All Told, the Price Tag for Citigroup's New Chief Is $216 Million "In practice, they were given multimillion-dollar deferred cash and equity awards in January. Mr. Kaden added $8.3 million to his $500,000 salary in 2007, according to an analysis by Equilar, an executive compensation research firm. Mr. Klein received cash and equity awards worth $19.3 million in addition to his $212,500 salary. Mr. Volk was paid $10.3 million of similar awards on top of his $212,500 salary."

San Francisco Chronicle, March 12, 2008 Visa CEO Could Make Millions In IPO "The award is worth $11 million, based on the expected increase in Visa's share price over time, the company calculated in its IPO registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 'When you consider that ... the CEO did not receive equity awards last year ... and that Visa's peers routinely grant equity on an annual basis, it is not surprising that Visa's board would approve substantial awards at the time of the IPO,' said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager of Equilar, a Redwood City executive compensation research firm."

Compliance Week, March 11, 2008 Top Option Grants, Stock Awards in February "According to Equilar, several grants of 'premium-priced' options were awarded in February, an increasingly common compensation practice. Awards are considered premium-priced when the exercise price of the grant is higher than the stock price on the grant date. Such awards are not well loved by executives, as the awards are immediately 'underwater;' the company's stock price has to rise to the level of the exercise price for the award to have any value."

Financial Week, March 10, 2008 WaMu's Executive Bonuses Ignite Backlash "The decision by WaMu's board is all the more baffling considering an increasing number of its Fortune 100 peers are adding shareholder-friendly compensation recovery policies, or so-called clawbacks. Late last month American Express joined 40 other big companies with such a provision—more than double the number in 2005—that allows boards to recoup money doled out to employees if misconduct or negligence leads to a financial restatement, according to Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager at Equilar."

Agenda Magazine, March 10, 2008 Boards Buck Trend by Cutting Their Own Pay "While director compensation continues to rise to reflect increased responsibilities, some companies are bucking the trend. Their reasons could have implications for other boards working to align their pay with corporate performance in a time of economic uncertainty. So the Equilar CEO Blog reports. Take Ford Motor and General Motors, for example. Both automakers reduced director pay by half in 2006, Equilar points outs. GM reportedly explained in its proxy that the move was tied to company turnaround plans."

WIB Directors Digest, March 10, 2008 Board Independence at Western Banks "Pressure to adopt strong independent leadership in the boardroom has never been higher. Over the past few years, boards in all industries have grown more independent with fewer affiliated directors and a greater prevalence of non-executive chairs and lead independent directors. In this article, we look at some of the numbers behind these trends and investigate how these pressures are affecting the boards of Western banks with assets under $5 billion." (Written by Equilar research analyst David Sasaki)

Baltimore Sun, March 7, 2008 Clawbacks Are Gaining Favor "Forty-two percent of Fortune 100 companies had clawback policies in a 2007 report by Equilar, an executive-pay research firm in Redwood Shores, Calif., although that was twice the portion from the year before. Clawback clauses are far less prevalent at smaller companies, says Equilar research manager Alexander Cwirko-Godycki."

BusinessWeek, March 3, 2008 CEO Bonuses Down "Feeling down after your boss scrimped on your bonus this year? You're not alone. In an early look at this year's proxy filings by compensation number crunchers Equilar, CEO bonuses were down, too. For the 108 CEOs who have filed proxies and whose fiscal years ended after Aug. 31, 2007, bonuses were down a median 4.5%, compared with a 27.1% increase for the same executives the year before. The data represents a wide base of industries, says Equilar spokesperson Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, who expects the bonus fall to accelerate as the proxy season goes on and more financial-services firm chiefs weigh down the average."

Agenda Magazine, March 3, 2008 Director Stock Ownership Disclosure Climbing "The number of Fortune 250 companies disclosing stock ownership policies for their directors is on the rise, climbing from 70.6% in 2005 to 77.6% in 2006. That's according to a new study by executive compensation research firm Equilar that examines director stock ownership trends among the largest companies. The study's results reflect a growing push to align directors' interests with shareholders'."

Conde Nast Portfolio, February 29, 2008 Reining In C.E.O. Perks "'There is no doubt there has been an increase in companies disclosing cutbacks in executive perks,' said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager at Equilar, a compensation research firm. The trend, added Cwirko-Godycki, started last year. 'In 2006, 16 Fortune 100 companies announced compensation cuts, whereas in 2005 only two companies made similar disclosures,' said Cwirko-Godycki. 'I would expect the number of cuts to increase this year.'"

Directorship, February 28, 2008 CEO Bonuses Declined in 2007 "The amount that CEOs received as bonuses declined nearly 5 percent from 2006 to 2007, according to a study by Equilar, an executive compensation research and benchmarking firm. Almost 40 percent received smaller payouts than they did the year before. The survey of 108 companies with revenues over $1 billion and fiscal years ending on or after August 31, 2007, finds that the median CEO bonus declined by 4.5 percent from 2006 to 2007. For the same executives, bonuses had increased by 27.1 percent from 2005 to 2006."

Conde Nast Portfolio, February 28, 2008 C.E.O. Compensation: Less Is More "In recent years, some people have complained that bonuses for chief executives have been based on a rather simplistic formula: You exist, you get. But a preliminary review of 2007 compensation deals found that the median value of C.E.O. bonuses - brace yourself - actually declined by 4.5 percent last year. Don't get too worked up. The study, published today by the executive compensation-consulting firm Equilar, notes that last year's drop was small compared with the 27.1 percent rise in 2006."

The New York Times, February 25, 2008 Visa Plans $17 Billion Public Offering "Since October 2006, Visa has reorganized its sprawling management structure, bringing together all of its global operations with the exception of those in Europe. It has also hired Joseph W. Saunders, the former head of Providian Financial Corporation, as its chairman and chief executive, giving him a pay package worth $11.1 million in cash for 2007. Upon completion of the I.P.O., he is expected to receive an additional $11.5 million in stock and options, according to Equilar, a compensation research firm."

IDD Magazine, February 25, 2008 The Dwindling Dollars "Revenue at bulge-bracket names including Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Bear Stearns, JPMorgan, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley declined by 6.1% in 2007, to $263 billion from $279 billion in 2006, according to Equilar, an executive-compensation research firm in Redwood Shores, Calif."

Directorship, February 20, 2008 Stock-Ownership Requirements Increasing "The number of large companies with publicly disclosed stock-ownership policies for board members climbed 7 percent to 77.6 percent among Fortune 250 firms in 2006, according to a new report by Equilar, a compensation data and research company. The report also finds that the median stock-ownership target for directors neared $250,000 in 2006."

The New York Times, February 20, 2008 Microsoft Said to Plan Proxy Fight for Yahoo "Yahoo's top executives will receive their base salaries for 24 months and be eligible for the maximum $15,000 amount in outplacement-benefits reimbursements. More than 4 in 5 Fortune 200 companies have similar - and sometimes more generous - enhanced severance agreements for top executives after a merger or acquisition, according to Equilar, an executive compensation research firm. But those types of agreements rarely extend to all employees, according to Equilar."

PlanAdviser, February 19, 2008 More Companies Regulating Executive Stock Ownership "Equilar, Inc., based in Redwood Shores, California, said the percentage of Fortune 250 firms regulating executive stock ownership hit an all-time high in 2006 of 80.9%, up from 73.9% the year before. Meanwhile, the prevalence of Fortune 250 companies with publicly-disclosed director stock ownership policies climbed to 77.6%, up from 70.6% in 2005. Like ownership guidelines, the prevalence of executive holding requirements at Fortune 250 companies increased from 2005 to 2006, from 23.5% to 29%. Additionally, an increasing number of companies used both holding requirements and ownership guidelines, Equilar said."

Compliance Week, February 12, 2008 Executive Pay Tops Investors' Priority List "Last year, peer group disclosure was 'all over the map,' according to David Chun, chief executive of compensation research firm Equilar. In 2007, most companies had about 20 companies in a peer group. What wasn't clear from many companies' disclosure in their Compensation Discussion & Analysis, Chun said, was how they chose the peer group companies they did. Companies also didn't discuss why companies that met their peer group criteria weren't included."

Compliance Week, February 12, 2008 Top Option Grants, Stock Awards in January "According to Equilar, several grants of 'premium-priced' options were awarded in January, an increasingly common compensation practice. Awards are considered premium-priced when the exercise price of the grant is higher than the stock price on the grant date."

Agenda Magazine, February 11, 2008 Comp Consultants Getting Slammed in CEO Pay Flap "Formal policies mandating that the comp consulting firm be fully independent from management are now in place at Procter & Gamble, Microsoft, Sotheby's and Gaylord Entertainment. Countrywide Financial and Gaylord Entertainment have switched comp consultants to avoid potential conflicts. Still, only 1.5% of Fortune 1000 companies disclosed having separate comp consultants for the board and management team in 2006, according to a study by Equilar."

Fortune, February 8, 2008 Yahoo execs' big pay day from a Microsoft deal "But don't expect any 'golden parachutes' for these Yahoos - according to research firm Equilar and company records, there's no evidence Yahoo would give its execs cash severance benefits in the event of a take-over. However, the company does have an agreement with Decker stating that some of her previously vested options will remain exercisable for an additional three years if she leaves the company."

Conde Nast Portfolio, February 5, 2008 Are You Overpaid? Your Board Thinks So. "One in three directors of U.S.-based public companies say that C.E.O. pay is 'too high in most cases.' This information comes in a survey conducted jointly by Heidrick & Struggles, the executive recruitment firm, and the Center for Effective Organizations at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business." (See graphic for Equilar data)

The New York Times, February 2, 2008 If It's Hit, Strummed or Plucked, It'll Be Here "After a 40-year career at Target, Mr. Ulrich seems to have the wherewithal. He got $36.4 million in compensation in 2006; after his retirement, planned for February 2009, he will be eligible for pension and deferred compensation payments of $135 million, according to Target's April 2007 proxy as analyzed by Equilar, an executive compensation research firm in Redwood Shores, Calif. His shares in the company, held directly and indirectly, amount to about $40 million."

Directorship, January 31, 2008 Analysis Shows CEOs Opting for More Options-Based Shares "An Equilar analysis of fourth-quarter filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission found that the total number of shares awarded to Fortune 500 chief executives was approximately 30.7 million, an 18.2 percent increase over the fourth quarter of 2006. When compared to Q4 2006, the overall number of full-value shares granted to Fortune 500 chief executives in Q4 2007 fell by 10.2 percent. However, the overall number of option-based shares granted to chief executives increased by 18.2 percent, according to the most recent newsletter published by Equilar, a compensation benchmarking consultancy based in California."

The Wall Street Journal, January 30, 2008 Google CEO, Co-Founders Made Long-Term Promise "Based on Google's closing price of $550.52 on Tuesday, Mr. Page held $16.05 billion worth of Google stock, while Mr. Brin was worth $15.76 billion. Mr. Schmidt, who was recruited from Novell Inc., had $5.22 billion in shares, according to executive compensation research firm Equilar."

The Washington Post, January 29, 2008 The Bonuses Keep Coming "Seven of Wall Street's biggest firms boosted their total compensation and benefits to a combined $122 billion, up 10 percent since 2006, despite seeing their net revenue collectively fall 6 percent, according to Equilar, an executive-compensation research firm based in California. Mortgage- related losses reported by the seven firms totaled $55 billion and wiped out more than $200 billion in shareholder value."

The Washington Post, January 29, 2008 Legg Mason Picks a New CEO, Ending Founder's 37-Year Tenure "Under Legg Mason's contract with its executives, the only guaranteed payment Mason will receive after the termination of his employment is the full balance of his deferred compensation account, which as of the end of 2006 totaled $6.3 million, said Equilar, an executive-compensation research firm."

CNET News.com, January 22, 2008 Life after Google, with millions "According to the company's most recent securities filing, Google employees held 11,662,917 outstanding stock options as of September 30, 2007. At the current stock price, those shares would carry a potential value of about $4.48 billion for employees. Google co-founder Larry Page's stock holdings are also worth about $18.85 billion and Sergey Brin's, $18.51 billion, according to analysis from executive compensation firm Equilar."

Compliance Week, January 15, 2008 Top Option Grants, Stock Awards in December "According to Equilar, several grants of 'premium-priced' options were awarded in December, an increasingly common compensation practice. Awards are considered premium-priced when the exercise price of the grant is higher than the stock price on the grant date. Such awards are not well loved by executives, as the awards are immediately 'underwater;' the company's stock price has to rise to the level of the exercise price for the award to have any value."

National Mortgage News, January 14, 2008 Mozilo Will Get $112M If He Leaves "Countrywide Financial Corp. chairman, chief executive, and founder Angelo Mozilo is entitled to a severance package of about $112 million if he leaves the company, according to a report put out by Equilar, an executive compensation company. Basing its information on a year-old proxy statement, Equilar says Mr. Mozilo is entitled to a severance package of $88 million plus retirement benefits of $24 million."

The Washington Post, January 12, 2008 Big Payday Awaits Chairman After Countrywide Sale "Angelo R. Mozilo has pocketed $410 million in salary, bonuses and stock-option gains since he became executive chairman of mortgage lender Countrywide Financial in 1999, according to the executive compensation company Equilar. Now, the man at the center of the national mortgage crisis stands to collect an additional $112 million in severance when Bank of America buys the company he helped found."

MSN, January 10, 2008 $21,000 an hour, at your expense "Directors at Fortune 500 firms who were also chairmen got a median of $288,000 in 2006, according to Equilar, an executive-compensation research firm. That was more than five times the median income that U.S. households brought home that year."

Agenda Magazine, January 7, 2008 Comp Digest: Pay for Performance Alive and Well "Still, other studies show that non-performance-related pay vehicles such as golden parachutes are still alive and well in corporate America. Roughly three quarters of Fortune 100 CEOs have change-in-control agreements, according to a study by research firm Equilar. Moreover, most of those executives are in line to get cash payments of 300% of their base salaries."

Agenda Magazine, January 2, 2008 For SEC, Proxy Access Caps an Active 2007 "The year ahead will be largely shaped by the impact of the proxy access vote and by how companies disclose compensation arrangements. 'Companies are clearly on notice regarding the high level of transparency and detail in disclosure that they are expected to provide,' notes Equilar's CEO Blog."