Yahoo’s Semel Is In The Compensation Spotlight But Not Everyone Is Happy

Yahoo CEO Terry Semel heads the latest San Jose Mercury News compensation survey after garnering $230.6 million for running the company in 2004 — as the MercNews puts it, “among the biggest paydays ever for a U.S. executive.” Semel earned points from compensation experts for tying the bulk of his payoff to the stock’s performance; most of that income came from excercising options after Yahoo’s stock price responded to the company’s initiatives and the increase in online advertising. His salary more than doubled last year to $600,000.
But not everyone is thrilled. In what is becoming an increasingly popular way of expressing discontent with corporate execs and directors, Yahoo shareholders dismayed by Semel’s compensation withheld nearly one-fifth of the possible votes from the three directors who make up the compensation committee. WSJ (sub. req.)

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