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Harte Hanks reduces executive compensation; Priceline reveals new CFO's salary

Harte-Hanks Inc. on Feb. 2 announced significant changes to its executive and board compensation for 2018.

The company said the annual base salary of President and CEO Karen Puckett will be reduced by 35% to $485,000 and she will not be eligible for a cash annual incentive plan payment for 2018.

The company's CEO and several other executives also agreed to modify their agreements which provide benefits in defined change in control circumstances to reduce the multiple applied to calculate potential severance payments, and all executives agreed to amendments that reduce the potential acceleration of performance-based equity awards.

Additionally, each director's cash annual retainer was reduced to $40,000 from $45,000, and each committee chair retainer was reduced by $2,500. To reinforce alignment with stockholders, the board increased annual equity awards to $70,000 from $60,000, and directors have elected to take a significant portion of their retainer compensation in the form of stock. In addition, most directors waived all compensation for board service for the last four months of 2017.

"These changes are expected to reduce the company's target 2018 cash executive compensation by over a third compared to 2017, and are also targeted to reduce board compensation by at least a quarter while increasing the proportion of equity compensation," Scott Key, chairman of the company's compensation committee, said.

In other compensation news:

Media

* Suzanne Grimes will continue to serve as Cumulus Media Inc.'s executive vice president of corporate marketing and president of Westwood division through July 31, 2020. Pursuant to an amendment employment agreement, Grimes' salary will increase to $650,000 per year on July 3, with a target bonus at $500,000 for calendar year 2018, according to a Feb. 1 Form 8-K filing.

* Priceline Group Inc.'s newly appointed CFO David Goulden will be paid an annual base salary of $600,000, with a target annual bonus of 210% of base salary, the company said in a Jan. 22 Form 8-K filing. The executive will receive a signing bonus of $500,000 and will be granted restricted stock units on March 4 for a number of shares with a grant date fair value of $6.3 million. Goulden will also be granted performance share units on March 4 for a number of shares with a grant date fair value at target of $4.5 million.

* Liquidity Services Inc. Chairman and CEO William Angrick III took home about $2.1 million in 2017 total compensation, almost the same as in 2016, the company disclosed in a proxy statement filed Jan. 22. Angrick's 2017 pay included $380,000 in salary, about $1.2 million in stock awards, $311,578 in option awards and $136,500 in nonequity incentive plan compensation. Meanwhile, CFO Jorge Celaya's total compensation decreased to $709,580 in 2017 from 872,644 in the prior year.

* Kenneth Chenault, who was recently named a director of Facebook Inc., will receive an annual retainer fee of $50,000, and a grant of 464 restricted stock units, which was calculated by reference to the company's existing annual equity award for continuing directors, with the $300,000 value prorated for service through May 15.

* Yelp Inc.'s board approved annual base salaries and the grant of options to purchase shares of the company's common stock for certain of the company's executive officers. CEO Jeremy Stoppelman, who will continue to receive $1 in salary, will be granted 288,000 options, according to a Jan. 17 SEC filing. COO Joseph Nachman and CFO Charles Baker will each receive $325,000 salaries and 117,850 options. Chief Accounting Officer Alan Ramsay's annual salary will be $290,000 and he will receive 13,100 options.

Communications

* Michael Rapino, who recently joined Sirius XM Holdings Inc.'s board of directors, will be entitled to receive the customary annual compensation paid to the company's nonemployee directors, which currently comprises an annual cash retainer of $100,000, $35,000 in the form of options to purchase company stock, and $65,000 in restricted stock units. Rapino was also awarded options to purchase company common shares in an amount of $13,000 and restricted stock units in an amount of $24,000, according to a Jan. 23 SEC filing. Rapino has been the president and CEO of Live Nation Entertainment Inc. since 2005.