Staples CEO Sargent’s Pay Grew 15% to $12.4 Million Last Year

[news]

Staples CEO Sargent’s Pay Grew 15% to $12.4 Million Last Year
By Drew FitzGerald

Staples Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Ron Sargent’s total compensation grew 15% to $12.4 million last year after the office supply retailer’s profitability improved despite sagging sales.

Mr. Sargent’s salary and traditional stock awards were unchanged in 2014 from the year before, but the chief executive earned $2.6 million in non-equity incentive compensation, up from $667,415 a year earlier. Those payments were triggered after the company met certain performance targets, including goals tied to earnings per share and growth in revenue “beyond office supplies sales,” a category designed to diversify the company’s business lines.

Vice Chairman Joseph Doody had the second-highest pay with $3.7 million in total compensation, up from $3.2 million in 2013. Mr. Doody ran the company’s North American commercial business, which serves large contract customers, until February 2014.

Staples has wrestled with years of declining sales, especially in its retail business, as demand wanes for such office basics as toner and filing cabinets. Online competition has also dragged down prices, hurting its profitability. The company has responded by downsizing stores and investing more in its e-commerce business.

The company’s executive compensation program has still come under fire from proxy advisory firms, which help institutional investors decide how to cast their corporate ballots. Advisor Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. said the changes layered new payments atop an existing compensation plan that paid executives less.

Shares of Staples fell 2.9% Monday and are down 10% so far this year.

Its shares ended last year 14% higher from a year earlier, after activist investment fund Starboard Value LP in December took a stake in the company amid talk of a potential merger with rival Office Depot Inc. Staples followed up in February with a $6.3 billion offer for its fellow office-supply chain. Regulators are reviewing the deal.

Staples CEO Sargent’s Pay Grew 15% to $12.4 Million Last Year
By Drew FitzGerald

Staples Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Ron Sargent’s total compensation grew 15% to $12.4 million last year after the office supply retailer’s profitability improved despite sagging sales.

Mr. Sargent’s salary and traditional stock awards were unchanged in 2014 from the year before, but the chief executive earned $2.6 million in non-equity incentive compensation, up from $667,415 a year earlier. Those payments were triggered after the company met certain performance targets, including goals tied to earnings per share and growth in revenue “beyond office supplies sales,” a category designed to diversify the company’s business lines.

Vice Chairman Joseph Doody had the second-highest pay with $3.7 million in total compensation, up from $3.2 million in 2013. Mr. Doody ran the company’s North American commercial business, which serves large contract customers, until February 2014.

Staples has wrestled with years of declining sales, especially in its retail business, as demand wanes for such office basics as toner and filing cabinets. Online competition has also dragged down prices, hurting its profitability. The company has responded by downsizing stores and investing more in its e-commerce business.

The company’s executive compensation program has still come under fire from proxy advisory firms, which help institutional investors decide how to cast their corporate ballots. Advisor Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. said the changes layered new payments atop an existing compensation plan that paid executives less.

Shares of Staples fell 2.9% Monday and are down 10% so far this year.

Its shares ended last year 14% higher from a year earlier, after activist investment fund Starboard Value LP in December took a stake in the company amid talk of a potential merger with rival Office Depot Inc. Staples followed up in February with a $6.3 billion offer for its fellow office-supply chain. Regulators are reviewing the deal.

Staples CEO Sargent’s Pay Grew 15% to $12.4 Million Last Year
By Drew FitzGerald

Staples Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Ron Sargent’s total compensation grew 15% to $12.4 million last year after the office supply retailer’s profitability improved despite sagging sales.

Mr. Sargent’s salary and traditional stock awards were unchanged in 2014 from the year before, but the chief executive earned $2.6 million in non-equity incentive compensation, up from $667,415 a year earlier. Those payments were triggered after the company met certain performance targets, including goals tied to earnings per share and growth in revenue “beyond office supplies sales,” a category designed to diversify the company’s business lines.

Vice Chairman Joseph Doody had the second-highest pay with $3.7 million in total compensation, up from $3.2 million in 2013. Mr. Doody ran the company’s North American commercial business, which serves large contract customers, until February 2014.

Staples has wrestled with years of declining sales, especially in its retail business, as demand wanes for such office basics as toner and filing cabinets. Online competition has also dragged down prices, hurting its profitability. The company has responded by downsizing stores and investing more in its e-commerce business.

The company’s executive compensation program has still come under fire from proxy advisory firms, which help institutional investors decide how to cast their corporate ballots. Advisor Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. said the changes layered new payments atop an existing compensation plan that paid executives less.

Shares of Staples fell 2.9% Monday and are down 10% so far this year.

Its shares ended last year 14% higher from a year earlier, after activist investment fund Starboard Value LP in December took a stake in the company amid talk of a potential merger with rival Office Depot Inc. Staples followed up in February with a $6.3 billion offer for its fellow office-supply chain. Regulators are reviewing the deal.

[Author]

April 21, 2015 at 10:11 AM