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Tag Archives | CEO pay

Starbucks (SBUX): Vote Proxy Access

James McRitchie, March 15, 2017 ,

Starbucks Corporation (NASD: SBUX), together with its subsidiaries, operates as a roaster, marketer, and retailer of specialty coffee worldwide. SBUX is one of the stocks in my portfolio. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of four fund families when I checked and voted. Their annual meeting is coming up on March 22, 2017

I voted FOR Proxy Access Amendments. See how and why I voted other items below. I voted with the Board’s recommendations 50% of the time. View Proxy Statement via iiWisdom.

Read Warnings below. What follows are my recommendations on how to vote the proxy in order to enhance corporate governance and long-term value. Continue Reading →

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Are We Paying CEOs Too Much?

James McRitchie, March 9, 2017 ,

Are we paying CEOs too much? Is the Pope Catholic? (That’s my own bad joke, not from the panelists.)

Executive compensation is front and center on the minds of shareholders, regulators—and politicians. What IS pay? What IS performance? What are the right time frames for measuring performance? And what to do about the perception that pay is not tied to performance?

I was less interested in our “perception” that pay is not tied to performance and more interested in the reality, where such discrepancies exist.

Are We Paying CEOs Too Much?

Are We Paying CEOs Too Much?

Are We Paying CEOs Too Much? is Part 5 of my coverage of the Corporate Directors Forum 2017 in San Diego @corpdirforum, which was billed as Directors, Management, & Shareholders in Dialogue. I was also hoping to learn more about President Donald J. Trump and how his administration might impact corporate governance. More about that in a future post. See Part I, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4. As usual, the Directors Forum was under Chatham House Rule, so I’m mostly just posting a few observations and my reflections that I hope readers will find interesting.Much better photos from the professional photographer at Directors Forum 2017 Photo Slide Show. Continue Reading →

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Walt Disney Company: Proxy Score 25

Elizabeth Chang, March 2, 2017 ,

Walt Disney Company

Walt Disney Company: before you vote your proxy

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), together with its subsidiaries, operates as an entertainment company worldwide.

The Walt Disney Company is one of the stocks in my portfolio. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of three fund families when I checked and voted. Their annual meeting is coming up on March 8, 2017.

I voted FOR Proxy Access Amendments. See how and why I voted other items below. I voted with the Board’s recommendations only 25% of the time. View Proxy Statement via iiWisdom. Continue Reading →

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Qualcomm (QCOM) Proxy Access: Proxy Score 57

Elizabeth Chang, February 27, 2017 ,

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASD:QCOM) develops, designs, manufactures, and markets digital communications products and services in China, South Korea, Taiwan, the United States, and internationally.

QCOM is one of the stocks in my portfolio. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of two funds when I checked and voted. Their annual meeting is coming up on March 7th, 2017.

I voted AGAINST pay, comp committee members, auditor. FOR Proxy Access Amendments. See why below. I voted with the Board’s recommendations 57% of the time. View Proxy Statement via iiWisdom. Continue Reading →

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Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.: Proxy Score 33

Elizabeth Chang, January 23, 2017 ,

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) operates as a pharmacy-led health and wellbeing company. It operates through three segments: Retail Pharmacy USA, Retail Pharmacy International, and Pharmaceutical Wholesale.

Their annual meeting is coming up on January 26th, 2017. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of 3 fund families when I checked. I voted FOR proxy access and a report on sustainability and pay practices; AGAINST pay, compensation committee, auditor and financial expert. I voted with the Board’s recommendations 33% of the time. View Proxy Statement. See 1/25/2017 update. Continue Reading →

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CEO Pay Ratios: Do Employees Care?

James McRitchie, August 4, 2016 ,

CEO Pay Ratios: Mandated Reporting Approaches

Starting fiscal years beginning in January, companies must disclose CEO pay ratios to the median compensation of their employees. Companies have flexibility with regard to sampling and other methodologies, according to how the SEC has interpreted the Dodd-Frank Act. In preparation, PayScale and Equilar surveyed employee sentiment on CEO pay ratios.

CEO Pay Ratios: Employees Surveyed

Do employees know what their CEO earns? If so, do they think it’s fair? If they believe it’s not fair, does it negatively affect their perception of their employer? And, finally, does CEO pay have any effect on the ability of a company to retain its employees? Additionally, they asked some CEOs to weigh in with their thoughts on the SEC rule and their approach to employee communication as it pertains to executive pay.

Equilar provided pay data for some of the the highest-paid CEOs in the U.S. and PayScale provided median worker pay data for those same companies. They then calculated the CEO pay ratios between the CEO at each company and their employees. Many CEOs do receive substantial stock/option grants and perks as part of their compensation, but the firms don’t currently have similar data available for employees, so they looked solely at cash compensation to calculate ratios for this report. However, they did provide the Equilar data on Total CEO Pay as well, so that it’s clear how much of each CEO’s pay is in the form of cash vs. stock/options/perks. Continue Reading →

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BlackRock Inc: Proxy Score 59

James McRitchie, May 23, 2016 ,

BlackRock Inc

BlackRock Inc: Before You Vote Your Proxy

BlackRock Inc (NYSE:BLK) provides investment and risk management services to institutional and retail clients across the world. Its product offerings include single- and multi-asset class portfolios investing in equities, fixed income, alternatives and money market instruments..

Their annual meeting is coming up on May 25, 2016. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of three fund families when I checked. Vote AGAINST pay plan, compensation committee, director with poor attendance; FOR Proxy Access, Report on Proxy Voting and Executive Compensation. I voted with the Board’s recommendations 59% of the time. View Proxy Statement. Continue Reading →

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Analogic Corp: How I Voted – Proxy Score 80

Elizabeth Chang, January 12, 2016 ,

Analogic Corporation ($ALOG), a technology company, designs, manufactures, and sells medical imaging, ultrasound, and security systems and subsystems to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and end users in the healthcare and airport security markets worldwide. Analogic is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on January 21, 2016. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of one fund when I checked. I voted with the Board’s recommendations 80% of the time, voting only against pay and pay chair as a warning for loose pay practices. View Proxy Statement.

Read Warnings below. What follows are my recommendations on how to vote the proxy in order to enhance corporate governance and long-term value. Continue Reading →

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Reeds – REED: Reject the Board

Elizabeth Chang, December 18, 2015 ,

2nd update, 12/20/2015: Unpack your bags, cancel your flight and hotel. Reeds Inc. (REED) has postponed tomorrow’s annual meeting to 12/30/2015. Although the move may be costly to shareowners and our company, it may pay dividends in the long-run if REED finally starts paying more attention to shareowners, corporate governance and their legal obligations. REED made a material error in their proxy materials and ballot. Although they filed a revised proxy, they didn’t pay to send a new ballot or link to shareowners. The supplement they issued on Friday includes a new ballot but so far that has not gone out to most shareowners. I am hoping they will do so this week through Broadridge’s proxyvote.com platform. Continue Reading →

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Marrone Bio Innovations (MBII): How I Voted – Proxy Score 33

Elizabeth Chang, December 14, 2015 ,

Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. $MBII provides bio-based pest management and plant health products for the agriculture, turf, and ornamental and water treatment markets in the United States and internationally. Marrone Bio is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is on December 17, 2015. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of one fund when I checked. I voted with the Board’s recommendations 33% of the time. View Proxy Statement.

Read Warnings below. What follows are my recommendations on how to vote the proxy in order to enhance corporate governance and long-term value. Continue Reading →

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United Natural Foods (UNFI): How I Voted – Proxy Score 42

Elizabeth Chang, December 13, 2015 ,

United Natural Foods, Inc. $UNFI, together with its subsidiaries, distributes and retails natural, organic, and specialty foods and non-food products in the United States and Canada. United Natural Foods is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is on December 16, 2015. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of four funds when I checked. I voted with the Board’s recommendations 42% of the time. View Proxy Statement.

Read Warnings below. What follows are my recommendations on how to vote the proxy in order to enhance corporate governance and long-term value. Continue Reading →

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Medtronic PLC: How I Voted – Proxy Score 44

Elizabeth Chang, December 7, 2015 ,

Medtronic PLC ($MDT) manufactures and sells device-based medical therapies worldwide. Medtronic is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is on December 11, 2015. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of two funds when I checked. I voted with the Board’s recommendations 44% of the time. View Proxy Statement.

Read Warnings below. What follows are my recommendations on how to vote the proxy in order to enhance corporate governance and long-term value. Continue Reading →

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WD-40 Company (WDFC): How I Voted – Proxy Score 100

Elizabeth Chang, December 4, 2015 ,

WDFC develops and sells maintenance products, and homecare and cleaning products. WDFC is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is on December 8, 2015. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the vote of one fund when I checked. I voted with the Board’s recommendations 100% of the time. View Proxy Statement.

Read Warnings below. What follows are my recommendations on how to vote the proxy in order to enhance corporate governance and long-term value. Continue Reading →

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Guidewire Software, Inc. (GWRE): How I Voted – Proxy Score 40

Elizabeth Chang, November 30, 2015 ,

Guidewire Software, Inc. provides software products for property and casualty (P&C) insurers. It offers a technology platform supports core insurance operations, including underwriting and policy administration, claim management, and billing. Guidewire is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on December 3, 2015. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of two funds when I checked. I voted with the Board’s recommendations 40% of the time. View Proxy Statement.

Read Warnings below. What follows are my recommendations on how to vote the proxy in order to enhance corporate governance and long-term value. Continue Reading →

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Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): How I Voted – Proxy Score 62

Elizabeth Chang, November 28, 2015 ,

Microsoft Corporation (MFST), a technology company, develops, licenses, and supports software products, services, and devices worldwide. Microsoft is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is on December 2, 2015. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of five funds when I checked. I voted with the Board’s recommendations 62% of the time. View Proxy Statement. iiWisdom provides a nice interactive viewing platform that makes Microsoft’s proxy a little easier to read. I recommend it.

Read Warnings below. What follows are my recommendations on how to vote the proxy in order to enhance corporate governance and long-term value. Continue Reading →

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