Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw got a significant bump in pay when he took the helm of the company less than a year ago.
Shaw’s total compensation in 2022 amounted to nearly $9.8 million — including about $5.5 million in stock awards, according to a company filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday. His total compensation also included $2.2 million in option awards, $901,276 in incentive compensation and a $900,000 salary.
He also received other compensation that included $172,799 for personal use of corporate aircraft.
Last year’s compensation for Shaw and other top railroad executives became public Friday as news reports surfaced about a federal environmental lawsuit filed against Atlanta-based Norfolk Southern, which alleged much of the executives’ compensation was tied to financial performance.
In 2022, the company made nearly $3.3 billion in net income on record revenue of $12.7 billion.
Shaw became the chief executive of Norfolk Southern on May 1, 2022, replacing former CEO James Squires — so Shaw held the top spot for only eight months of last year. Before that was the railroad’s president. In 2021, when Shaw was chief marketing officer for most of the year, his total compensation was about $4.4 million.
Squires’ total compensation was about $14 million in 2020 and 2021.
In a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice on Friday against Norfolk Southern alleging the railroad’s Feb. 3 derailment in Ohio unlawfully polluted waterways. The government alleged Norfolk Southern executives were rewarded for increasing revenue and reducing expenses by having 80% of their compensation based on performance metrics.
Other Norfolk Southern executives also had multi-million dollar compensation packages in 2022.
Mark George, the chief financial officer, had $4.9 million in total compensation last year, including $2 million in stock awards, nearly $1.4 million in option awards, a $675,000 salary, as well as incentive compensation and other compensation.
Ann Adams, chief transformation officer, had nearly $3.6 million in total compensation, including $1.5 million in stock awards, $1 million in option awards, a $600,000 salary, incentive compensation and other compensation.
