CONTINUING COVERAGE
AJC reporter Russell Grantham is tracking what Georgia’s major public companies pay their top executives. Look for periodic news and trend stories in the weeks ahead, as well as up-to-date statistics, as Grantham pores through this year’s corporate proxy statements.
Southern Co. Chief Executive Thomas Fanning was awarded $13 million in compensation last year — a 34 percent raise — in his second year as CEO of the Atlanta-based utility company.
Meanwhile, CEO Marty Flanagan, at Atlanta money manager Invesco, was paid $13.2 million last year, a 1 percent decline.
And recently-minted billionaire Jeffrey Lorberbaum, CEO at carpet-maker Mohawk Industries, got a 56 percent raise last year, to $4.3 million.
The look at the CEOs’ compensation is part of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s analysis of the pay of Georgia’s top executives over coming weeks. Executive pay has gained increased attention from investors and lawmakers since the 2007-2009 financial crisis and the Great Recession. Congress passed legislation in 2010 to give shareholders more say on executive pay.
Fanning’s boost last year partly came from a $4.7 million increase in the value of his pension, according to a recent proxy statement the company filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Fanning has been at Southern 31 years and was named CEO in late 2010.
Besides the increased pension benefits, Fanning’s pay package included a salary and bonus of $3.2 million, stock and stock option awards of $3.3 million, and perks of $67,458.
Fanning’s compensation rose as Southern company’s financial performance took a pause by some measures.
Revenue dropped more than 6 percent last year, to $16.5 billion, as milder weather and a slow economy hit demand for electricity. Profit rose almost 7 percent, to almost $2.4 billion, but less than Wall Street analysts had expected.
Southern Co.’s shareholders saw nearly a 4 percent loss on their holdings last year, including dividends, but a total return of nearly 53 percent since the beginning of 2007.
At Invesco, revenue rose 2 percent last year, to $4.2 billion, and profit fell 7 percent, to $677 million. Shareholders saw a 34 percent gain last year as investors piled more money into the stock market and Wall Street expected mutual fund managers like Invesco to see increased revenue.
Flanagan saw little change in his pay last year after the company cut his bonus 10 percent — in line with other employees — to almost $3.4 million, but some other types of compensation climbed. His pay package also included a $790,000 salary, $8.3 million stock award, and $728,966 in “other”compensation.
The latter category, which jumped from $530,480 in 2011, came mostly from dividends on unvested stock awards, or restricted company shares that he doesn’t own yet, and personal use of company aircraft.
Calhoun-based Mohawk paid CEO Lorberbaum $2.1 million in salary and bonus, $2.2 million in stock awards, and $9,251 in other compensation, compared to total compensation of $2.8 million in 2011.
But that paled compared to the $470 million jump in the value of Lorberbaum’s stake in Mohawk since 2011, which propelled him onto Forbe’s list of billionaires this year.
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