Low-wage employers including Coca-Cola and Hilton hiked CEO pay during pandemic
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Over half of the 100 companies in the S&P 500 Index that pay out the lowest median wages increased CEO salaries last year, according to a report published today by the Institute for Policy Studies.
The left-leaning policy group said 51 companies identified boosted chief executive pay by adjusting the rules for assessing executive performance during the pandemic.
Among those 51 companies the average CEO pay increased by 29 per cent, bringing the average compensation to $15.3m in 2020.
Coca-cola, Hilton Worldwide, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Yum Brands, which owns KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell, were among the corporations who boosted executive compensation.
The companies did so by lowering their performance targets, giving retention bonuses and swapping out stock awards linked to financial results with time-based share grants, the report found.
Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta’s total compensation in 2020 amounted to $56m, giving him the largest paycheck among the 51 companies, according to the report.
Although Nassetta did not meet the goals associated with his multi-year stock awards, the board “modified” the awards by discounting poor 2020 financial results and adjusting the performance metrics.
Chief executive pay bonuses continue to be divisive.
A share bonus hike for Astrazeneca’s chief executive, Pascal Soriot, was only narrowly approved in a vote where nearly 40 per cent of the pharma’s shareholders rejected the proposed pay package.