Today, more than half of chief executive officers have employment agreements in place. This is typically accomplished by structuring an executive employment agreement that addresses the respective rights and obligations of the employer and the executive and takes into account various...

Executives should be evaluated regularly using a clearly defined process and measurable evaluation criteria. All these factors should be determined based on each company’s goals, objectives, size, compensation philosophy, culture/shared values, and business plan. The information presented in...

Corporate boards have faced a wave of demands and challenges over the past decade. Now, we are seeing a counter-wave of boardroom changes designed to meet this new environment. James Reda, a CEO and board pay authority, tells how compensation committees are just one element in boards making...

While the impending SEC rules on disclosure of the CEO Pay Ratio continues to generate headlines, the reality is that this ratio does not inform investors of anything useful. Compensation committees should focus instead on other ratios and disclosures that are 1) more revealing of corporate...

An emerging company in need of capital to grow has an important decision to make: how and when should they raise the necessary capital. This article will explain different paths to raise capital and its implication on executive compensation practices

This article discusses two very important questions: If an executive “wears multiple hats,” can you claim for them the full pay of every job whose functions they handle? Is the fact that one may straddle, or perform a small portion of, a number of jobs a good justification for extra pay?

Starting in the 1990s, the term “new economy” has become a popular buzzword to reflect the overall view that something has changed and that the economy now works differently. Few studies clearly define the term “new economy” and it seems to mean different things to different people....

This article discusses full value shares (restricted stock, restricted stock units, and performance awards), which continue to rise in popularity as stock options continue to decline. Restricted stock has become a popular alternative to stock options, particularly for executives, due to high...

Several options exist to help mitigate the impact of the Internal Revenue Code § 280G penalties. One option is to design (or revise) executive compensation agreements to include “best after-tax” provisions, in which the change-in-control payments are reduced to just below the threshold only...