~ On Top of Big Salaries, Companies Pile on Perks

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On Top of Big Salaries, Companies Pile on Perks

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK - Wynn Resorts pays for founder and CEO Steve Wynn's
residence at its tony Las Vegas hotel and casino at a cost of
nearly $452,000.

Former IBM CEO Samuel Palmisano was guaranteed an administrative
assistant and furnished office for life as a retirement gift -
plus a $1 million office renovation.

Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices bought the house CEO Rory Read
struggled to sell for $790,000 - and gave him another $180,000
to cover his underwater mortgage.

These are not uncommon extravagances in the exclusive world of
CEO perks, replete with bodyguards, chauffeurs and private jets.
Last year, the median value of perks received by CEOs of big
public companies was nearly $162,000, an increase of more than 9
percent, according to executive pay research firm Equilar. Perks
declined in 2009, but have risen for three straight years.

Perks are just a small part of CEO compensation - the median
pay for CEOs of S&P 500 companies last year was $9.7 million. And
some companies are cutting back on perks, or at least getting rid
of the ones that shareholders find most offensive. Still, they're
a reminder of how CEOs' lifestyles are far removed from those of
their shareholders, customers and employees.

Last year, companies paid for their CEOs' country club
memberships, let them use corporate planes for personal travel
and gave them health care plans better than their employees,
among other perks.

Some corporate governance experts say giving perks to executives
already making millions just exacerbates the public perception -
fair or not - that they're more interested in lining their
pockets than helping the company.

"They might do without a plane," says Brandon Rees, acting
director at the investment office of the AFL-CIO union group,
referring to CEOs' use of company planes for personal travel.
"And instead invest it in (research and development)."

Companies tend to defend perks as legitimate business expenses
that ultimately benefit shareholders: Flying on private planes
keeps the executives safe. Country club memberships help them
network. An attractive package helps a company lure the best
talent.

"It is in the company's best interest if that person doesn't have
to think about daily things as much as you or I might need to,"
says Jay Meschke, president of CBIZ Human Capital Services, a
compensation and human resources consultant outside Kansas City,
Mo. "You want to make sure that 100 percent of this person's
efforts are devoted to the company's success."

Wynn Resorts calls CEO Wynn its "creative and organizational
force," and says having him "in residence" at the Wynn Las Vegas
"is a tremendous benefit to our guests and shareholders." The
company says Wynn spends most of his time at the resort, and
doesn't own a home in Las Vegas.

IBM says that giving the retiring CEO an office and
administrative support is consistent with past practice, but
declined to comment further. Advanced Micro Devices says that
buying Read's old home helped speed up his transition to AMD from
Lenovo, where he was chief operating officer.

Here are some other notable perks from 2012, spotted with help
from GMI Ratings, which ranks companies on corporate governance
metrics, and Footnoted.com, which scans SEC filings for
institutional investors:

- AN EXCLUSIVE CLUB: Diebold, an ATM security company, got rid
of country club benefits for all its executives except CEO Thomas
Swidarski, who Equilar calculated would earn $6.1 million for
2012. The company said that "he, more so than our other
executives, would benefit from the business development and
networking opportunities." The company spent $72,280 on
memberships for Swidarski, who stepped down in January under
pressure from a board unhappy with the company's financial
results.

- A PLACE TO CALL HOME: Insurer Axis Capital Holdings gave
Albert Benchimol a housing allowance of $25,000 when he became
CEO last year. That was included as part of a pay package, mostly
in stock awards, that could be worth $22.7 million. Axis says it
gives housing allowances to certain executives to help them pay
for second homes in Bermuda, where the company is based, so that
"talented executives" won't be deterred from joining the company.
Shareholders earlier this month voted against the pay packages
for Benchimol and other executives. The company didn't comment at
the time.

- HOME, SAFE HOME: Las Vegas Sands spent $2.8 million to provide
security for CEO Sheldon Adelson and his family. The company said
it was acting on the advice of an independent security consultant
for Adelson, a major donor to the Republican Party whose total
pay for 2012 was about $10.7 million. That blew away the $1.6
million spent on a home security system by Amazon for Jeff Bezos,
who is No. 2 in that category so far, according to GMI Ratings.

- A DRINK WITH YOUR BENEFITS?: Constellation Brands, maker of
Svedka vodka and Black Velvet whiskey, gave its CEO a $10,000
"product allowance," so he could enhance his "knowledge and
appreciation of our products." CEO Robert Sands, who made $7.7
million in fiscal 2012, used up $5,532 last year.


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