Goldman shareholders back $80M packages for Solomon, Waldron
By Banking Dive | Apr 24, 2025 | Read more
Partner Kelly Malafis was quoted in Banking Drive, mentioning typical Say on Pay support for public companies. The article goes on to discuss the weak Say on Pay support (66%) for Goldman Sachs (a 20% decrease year over year) following $80M retention bonuses to Goldman’s CEO and President. The vote result is Goldman’s lowest in a decade.
Goldman shareholders OK executive pay but with less support
By American Banker | Apr 23, 2025 | Read more
Partner Kelly Malafis was quoted in American Banker, discussing Say on Pay voting. In the article, Kelly discusses typical support levels and what certain vote results mean for public companies, specifically calling out that if a company receives less than 70% support in a given year, ISS expects to see evidence of responsiveness from the compensation committee.
UnitedHealth spent $1.7 million on executive security last year, 4 times the corporate average. Experts expect the figure to keep climbing
By Fortune | Apr 23, 2025 | Read more
CAP’s recent research on Security Perquisites (conducted by Partners Melissa Burek, Eric Hosken and Senior Analyst Grace Tan) was featured in an article discussing UnitedHealth’s use of executive security perks. The article cited CAP’s findings that the median disclosed cost of security perquisites for a team of named executives was $49,000, while the average was $414,000, and the highest reported spending was $6.8 million.
Forward-Looking Goal Disclosure: How Companies Are Balancing Transparency vs. Competitive Harm
By Compensation Standards | Apr 17, 2025 | Read more
CAP’s recent research on the Current State of Forward Goal Disclosure in Long-Term Incentive Plans (conducted by Partner Margaret Engel, Associate Louisa Heywood and Senior Analyst Grace Tan) was featured in a post on CompensationStandards.com. The article discusses that ISS wants companies to start disclosing performance goals that will apply to long-term incentive awards for the upcoming performance period (not just the completed year). CAP’s research found that Most companies do not disclose forward-looking financial targets that cover future years. Companies often determine that disclosure of forward-looking business plan targets exposes the company to competitive harm.
Early Filers: Bonuses Up Amid Flat Financial Performance
By Harvard Law School Forum | Mar 27, 2025 | Read more
Partner Lauren Peek and Principal Joanna Czyzewski’s early filers research report was published by the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance. The report found that CEO total direct compensation was up 9% among the early filers, driven by increases in bonuses and long-term incentives. However, early-filer performance was flat overall. The overall increase in CEO compensation was driven by companies experiencing extremes, with positive extremes outweighing negative extremes.
CEO Bonus Payouts Spike Despite Flat Performance
By Agenda | Mar 21, 2025 | Read more
Partner Lauren Peek and Principal Joanna Czyzewski’s early filers research was featured a recent Agenda article. The article highlights that median total direct compensation for CEOs at early filers increased 9% year over year, driven by the 14% increase in actual bonus payout, plus a 7% increase in the grant date value of long-term incentives. The change in bonus dollars year over year was largely impacted by those companies that experienced extremes — whether up or down.
As Tesla tanks, Musk’s hand-picked board chair is doing just fine
By Reuters | Mar 17, 2025 | Read more
CAP’s director pay research was referenced in an article discussing compensation received by Tesla’s board chair. The article mentions that Tesla’s chair receives stock options (only 2% of the largest U.S. public companies award them to board members) and that her compensation is about 10 times higher than the median annual compensation for directors (both instances citing CAP’s research).
Hostage Training and Hours of Pre-trip Preparation Signal the Terrifying New Reality of Traveling for Work
By Fortune | Mar 14, 2025 | Read more
Melissa Burek, Eric Hosken and Grace Tan’s security perquisite research was mentioned in Fortune’s latest article on the growing concerns over business travel safety, emphasizing how companies and individuals are ramping up security measures. CAP’s findings reveal that companies’ average disclosed cost of security for the full executive team was over $400,000 for the 500 largest public companies.
