Verizon is making a somewhat controversial move to pay its CEO Ivan Seidenberg based on the company achieving certain goals, as opposed to the company's stock price. Seidenberg passed on a restricted-stock grant worth $7.6 million for 2005 that he would have received if he stuck with the company through 2007. Under the current incentive plan, he could make more than $22 million in stock if all goals are met.
If the return is among the top 20 percent of companies in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index and its peers in the telecommunications industry, Seidenberg could make as much as $11 million. However, he would receive no award if the return was among the bottom 20 percent. Other factors influencing his pay will be meeting targets for the fiber-optic project, expansion in the company's wireless unit, integrating its merger early this year with long-distance provider MCI and achieving various legislative objectives.
For more on Verizon's new CEO pay scheme:
- see this WSJ article (sub. req.)