Tuesday, June 2, 2009

"A Good Start" -- A Suggestion, For The Post-Becherer Compensation Era, at Sch-Merck


Now that Hans Becherer no longer presides over the Compensation Committee of the Schering-Plough Board of Directors (no new Chair has been named Ms. Russo has been named the new Chair), it would make sense for the remaining members to seriously consider the Citi approach (described below), if and when it comes time to award merger-related continuing payments [as well as here, and here]. Note that Citi is technically voiding some prior contractual commitments to the departed excutives, here. Schering-Plough's board ought to do the same.

From this morning's Wall Street Journal -- do go read it all:

. . . .Citigroup already has doled out more than half of the roughly $100 million it promised to the former executives. But company officials recently decided not to proceed with the remaining payments, concluding that they wanted to avoid even the possibility of a public backlash over the money, people familiar with the situation said. . . .

Fresh in the minds of Citigroup executives was this spring's ire over American International Group Inc.'s retention bonuses to employees in its financial-products division. Top executives at the giant insurer argued they couldn't cancel the legally binding payments. . . .

Under the terms of exit agreements with the departed executives, Citigroup is contractually obliged to make the payments. But bank officials essentially are wagering that the former executives will conclude that it would be publicly embarrassing for them to file lawsuits against the. . . company. . . .

Indeed. Are you getting this, C. Robert Kidder (recently-tapped to help oversee and run Chrysler), Patricia F. Russo and Jack L. Stahl?

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