--CEO pay package includes higher salary but no additional stock
awards
--A handful of executives receive large restricted stock
packages
--Former executive Scott Forstall not mentioned in proxy
statement
(Adds details and context throughout.)
By Ben Fox Rubin
Apple Inc. (AAPL) Chief Executive Timothy Cook received an
estimated $4.2 million in compensation in 2012, nearly 99% less
than he got last year, when he topped the list of highest-paid
CEOs.
Mr. Cook's pay package for 2011 was valued at about $378
million, thanks largely to an award of one million restricted Apple
shares. The grant, made when the stock traded around $376 a share,
was intended to retain Mr. Cook as CEO because half of the award
vests in 2016 and the remainder in 2021. Since the award, the
company's shares have risen by more than a third.
According to a regulatory filing Thursday, Mr. Cook's salary
rose to $1.4 million in 2012 from $900,000, but he received no
stock awards this year, resulting in the much-smaller pay package.
The company explained Mr. Cook didn't receive stock this year
because of the large award he got when he was promoted to CEO.
The rest of Mr. Cook's 2012 compensation came primarily from
$2.8 million in performance-based bonuses. Apple said the company
exceeded the maximum performance goals for both net sales and
operating income set by its compensation committee for 2012. As a
result, each executive officer received the maximum payout of twice
the person's base salary under the bonus plan.
In addition, four top executives at the technology company
received large stock awards this year. The company explained in its
Securities and Exchange Commission proxy statement that it recently
adopted the practice of granting large restricted stock awards to
certain executives every two fiscal years, creating sharp swings in
pay packages from year to year.
However, Scott Forstall--the company's controversial former
mobile-software head, who was asked to leave Apple in
October--wasn't mentioned in the proxy statement, leaving investors
to wonder what, if any, severance package he may have received.
Following the company's stated practice, Mr. Forstall would have
been scheduled to receive a large stock award in 2012, as his total
compensation was valued at $1.4 million in 2011 and $29.6 million
in 2010. Mr. Forstall left Apple following heavy criticism over the
company's new mobile-mapping service, which contained numerous
errors and was a rare product snafu for the company.
An Apple representative wasn't immediately available for
comment.
In 2012, Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer's
compensation ballooned to $68.6 million from $1.4 million last
year, as his pay package included $66.2 million in stock
awards.
Bob Mansfield, the company's hardware chief, received
compensation valued at $85.5 million this year, nearly all of it
from stock awards. Mr. Mansfield told the company in May that he
intended to retire, which resulted in changes made to the vesting
dates of his previously granted stock awards, but he was coaxed out
of retirement by Mr. Cook later in the year.
Other executives benefiting from large stock awards included
Bruce Sewell, general counsel and secretary, who received total
compensation of $69 million, up from $1.4 million, and Jeffrey
Williams, senior vice president of operations, who got $68.7
million in all.
As part of the proxy statement, Apple nominated all eight of its
current directors to continue on the board. Also, a shareholder
proposed the creation of a board committee on human rights, in
response to concerns about working conditions at Apple's suppliers.
The company's board recommended voting against the proposal by
noting what Apple already does in this area and arguing such a
committee would distract the board from its other
responsibilities.
Apple's shares, up 25% in 2012 despite a recent selloff, slid
1.4% Thursday to $505.76 in a broad market decline.
Write to Ben Fox Rubin at ben.rubin@dowjones.com
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