NYT MAKES IT RAIN FOR TOP BRASS: The New York Times Co. revealed that chairman and publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. is poised to receive a 28.8 percent increase in total compensation in fiscal 2014, according to a proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Sulzberger will net $6.8 million in total compensation when shareholders gather at the company’s annual meeting at The Times Center on May 6 in order to approve key issues including executive pay and the election of board of members.
Built into Sulzberger’s pay day is a salary of $1.1 million — what he earned in 2013 — as well as $2 million in stock awards, $2.3 million in non-equity compensation, a $1.3 million pension and $186,405 in other compensation, which includes a reimbursement for relocation expenses.
The publisher’s counterpart, president and chief executive officer Mark Thompson, saw his total compensation slip 1.3 percent to $4.5 million, even though his annual salary remained the same at $1 million. Where Thompson lost ground is on non-equity plan compensation, which fell 26.1 percent to $1.5 million. Thompson’s stock awards totaled $2.3 million, while his other compensation more than doubled to $176,257. A reason for the bump was not provided.
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Another interesting tidbit in the filing dealt with payment and termination. Should Sulzberger be terminated, resign, retire/die or suffer a disability, he would obtain an annual and long-term performance award of $5.2 million. In those cases, his stock options would total $441,012, his nonqualified deferred compensation would amount to $1.4 million and his pension would equal $13.7 million. These figures would hold true should The Times change control and Sulzberger be terminated.
Under a change in control of the company, Sulzberger would net annual and long-term performance awards of $3 million and a deferred compensation of $1.4 million.
For Thompson, the story is a bit different. If terminated, the ceo will net $1 million in annual and long-term performance awards, stock options of $87,721 and severance benefits of $3.6 million. Should he become disabled, pass away or retire, the ceo will get $4.1 million, a severance of $13,183, deferred compensation of $73,704 and a mix of restricted stocks and stock option amounting to $773,553. If The Times changes hands, Thompson will get about $3 million, but if he’s terminated and it changes control, he will nab $4.5 million in awards, $87,721 in stocks and severance benefits of $3.6 million.
Unlike Sulzberger, whose family owns 4.6 percent of The Times or 7.7 million shares, if Thompson resigns, he gets nothing.