The Nepobaby Home Economics Award
Winner: Peter Huntsman Jr., Huntsman
Peter Huntsman Jr. works for Huntsman Corporation, the multinational chemical manufacturer. How he got the job is a mystery.
OK fine, Peter Jr.’s dad is the company’s chief executive (while Peter Jr.’s uncle is a former US ambassador and governor of Utah — powerful family!).
Peter Jr. himself is less powerful, currently holding the rank of vice-president of EAME (which is like EMEA, but perhaps easier to say) for the group’s performance products division, based in Frankfurt.
What is also a mystery is why shareholders are paying so much to educate his children [our emphasis]:
As a citizen of the U.S. with residence in Germany, we incurred foreign assignment costs on Peter Huntsman Jr.’s behalf during 2023, including $125,484 in international relocation expenses, allowances and adjustments, $73,727 in housing costs and $208,232 in child education expenses. In addition, we incurred $11,247 in tax gross-ups associated with Mr. Huntsman Jr.’s foreign assignment. We also paid $34,101 as an air travel allowance on Mr. Huntsman Jr.’s behalf pursuant to our Business Expense and Travel Policy.
Oof. Peter Jr.’s lucky he gets this after part of about $425k of comp, because that $260k gross salary probably wouldn’t have cut it. Then again, maybe there’s a cheaper way to get your children educated in Germany?
[Further reading: The golden age of corporate pizza consumption transparency may be over]
The Can’t Take It With You Award
Winner: The executive team, Service Corporation International
Imagine you hadn’t seen the award title and that gif of a skeleton getting crunk. What would you guess Service Corporation International does? Grab a pen and write an answer on your screen in the space provided below. No cheating!
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If you answered “poorly-disguised CIA front”, that’s very reasonable, but the actual answer is funerals. SCI says:
We are North America’s largest provider of deathcare products and services, with a network of funeral service locations and cemeteries unequaled in geographic scale and reach.
Deathcare probably doesn’t stand out a particularly glamorous sector, but that hasn’t stopped SCI’s executives enjoying the jetset life. The compensation notes from its latest proxy filing lists $331,364 in comp “for personal use of aircraft” for chairman and CEO Thomas L. Ryan, $144,131 for its chief financial officer, $117,825 for its chief operating officer, $40,456 for its VP for marketing and $56,163 for its VP for services operations.
[Further listening: Thee Oh Sees — Floating Coffin]
The It’s About Ethics In Hospitality Named Executive Officer Trips Award
Winner: Marriott International
Question: are you more inclined to think critically about the quality of something you paid for, or something you got for free?*
Marriott, the sprawling provider of sprawling hotels, thinks it’s the latter.
In its notes on perquisites offered to named executive officers, the company lists:
Hotel Stay Benefits – Consistent with hospitality industry practice, and to encourage NEOs to experience and personally evaluate our portfolio of properties, the Company offers NEOs complimentary rooms, food and beverage, and certain other amenities and activities (such as spa and golf) while on personal travel at properties within the Company’s lodging portfolio.
Well, of course — how can you truly appreciate the zonking-out opportunities of a dry flotation tank if you’re worrying about how to pay for it? Capitalism-pilled cynics will argue that you can’t really assess evaluate any product or services without some reference to its price, but you’re a Marriott NEO, so don’t need to worry about such things. Round of golf, anyone?
[Further reading: Meet the pest-control boss with the $140,000 dining perk]
The Relocation, Relocation, Relocation Award
Winner: NeoGenomics
Chris Smith, from NeoGenomics, took an award at last year’s Proxies after wrangling $2.2mn in compensation for “relocation costs” when he joined the Florida-based cancer drugs company.
While NeoGenomics hasn’t quite scaled those heights again since, it’s clear that Smith has set an example for his underlings. Two other named executives — Melody Harris and Warren Stone — each received $330,469 in “relocation allowance” last year:
Is it weird that both received exactly the same amount? No, both likely reflect a $250,000 “relocation bonus” in their respective contracts, marked up to offset tax.
Is it a good use of company cash? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
[Further reading: Lockheed Martin could probably use its planes a little more efficiently]
The OK Wait That’s An Amazing Perk Award
Winner: Polaris
Polaris is a—wait, what is this chart?
It’s like a FIFA player profile for boards!
Anyway, Polaris “pioneer[s] product breakthroughs and enriching experiences that help people work and play outside”, which is another way of saying it makes stuff like ATVs, boats and snowmobiles.
And here’s a decent perquisite its executive get:
The Company expects its executive officers to use the Company’s products so they have a first-hand understanding of our customers’ riding experience and can evaluate product design and efficiency. Each year, the NEOs are provided the use of up to 10-16 Polaris products. In addition, all NEOs are permitted the use of one boat.
The products used by our executives are either returned to the Company or purchased from the Company by a third party at a price greater than cost at the end of the defined usage period. We sell any returned products to dealers or through auction at an amount greater than cost of such products to the Company. The amount shown is the imputed value based on the estimated fair market value of the use of the unit (or units) for the period of time that the unit was in the executive’s possession.
Let’s quickly double-click on one sentence there:
In addition, all NEOs are permitted the use of one boat.
And there we were, thinking the FT cake trolley was a decent perk.
On top of that, Polaris execs also get a generous allowance for “Polaris Parts, Garments and Accessories”, of which the company helpfully explains:
The value shown is the cost to the Company for Polaris parts, garments, accessories, and services provided to each of the NEOs.
OK then.
[Further reading: This CEO is really making the most out of his employee discount]
The Exec On A Roll Flying Award
Winner: Ellen R. Gordon, Tootsie Roll Industries
Born in 1932, Ellen R. Gordon is from the third generation of the Tootsie Roll dynasty, and has been its chief executive since 2015, when her husband Melvin Gordon’s passing prompted headlines like: “Tootsie Roll CEO’s death shines Wall Street spotlight on secretive candy empire”.
There was speculation at the time that Melvin’s death would lead to a sale of the company, but Ellen’s still going strong in the big seat nearly a decade on.
Very strong, in fact. Latest proxy:
The All Other Compensation column reflects the following benefits for 2023:
…
— The use of Company aircraft by Mrs. Gordon to travel between corporate headquarters and other locations where both executive offices and personal housing are maintained in the amount of $1,936,001 for Mrs. Gordon.
That is a big number — we don’t think we saw higher jet comp in any other proxy this year (do let us know if you’ve seen a bigger figure elsewhere).
From context, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg — a notorious jet-hopper — spent $968,828 on jets in 2023. But then again, maybe he’s so strong nowadays that he can fly without assistance.
The God Forbid Our Executives Pay For This Themselves Award
Winner: AT&T
Really?
To help achieve business objectives, attract talent to key operating hubs, and allow for continuity of access during personnel changes, the Company owns a limited number of social club and country club memberships. In some cases, we allow personal use of those memberships by executives at no additional cost to the Company. For company-owned country club memberships, the Company pays for assessments as the owner of the membership, but Executive Officers are responsible for paying all dues and other fees associated with their use of the membership.
Really:
We suppose there’s something interesting about the sentence “In some cases, we allow personal use of those memberships by executives at no additional cost to the Company” — is it like a reward for good behaviour?
The Become The Danger Award
Winner: Mark Zuckerberg (yep, him again), Meta
That a digitally-altered picture of a dripped-out Mark Zuckerberg with an (added) beard was enough to tip Twitter into an outrageous wave of thirsty posting shows just how low the standards are for evil billionaires who have poisoned the groundwater of public discourse. Still, there’s definitely an aesthetic journey occurring.
In a more financially-relevant development, Zuckerberg was in the news earlier this year when Meta disclosed its founder’s passion for unarmed combat (specifically, Brazilian jiu jitsu) as a risk factor:
We currently depend on the continued services and performance of our key personnel, including Mark Zuckerberg. Mr. Zuckerberg and certain other members of management participate in various high-risk activities, such as combat sports, extreme sports, and recreational aviation, which carry the risk of serious injury and death. If Mr. Zuckerberg were to become unavailable for any reason, there could be a material adverse impact on our operations.
In this context, it’s interesting that Zuckerberg’s personal security spend actually plunged during 2023, Meta’s “year of efficiency”. Shareholders paid just (just) $9.4mn to keep him safe, versus about $15mn for each of the previous two years.
So, in something of an anti-proxy… could it be that Zuck’s martial arts training is saving millions of dollars?
*Apply to FT Alphaville however you see fit.
Further reading
— The Proxies [2023]: A celebration of substantial corporate perks
— The Proxies 2023: Where are they now?