General Motors Co. Chief Executive Mary Barra earned $16.2
million in a choppy first year at the helm, a pay package that far
outpaces her predecessor's compensation and exceeds the initial
target set by the board when she took the job.
The Detroit auto maker's 2014 executive compensation plans,
outlined in an annual proxy report filed Friday with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, represent a shifting compensation
strategy. No longer restricted by Treasury Department pay
guidelines, GM now has liberty to use the promise of bigger paydays
to reward, retain and motivate top managers.
Ms. Barra, 53, earned 80% more than the $9 million package paid
to former CEO Dan Akerson in 2013, even though her $1.6 million
base salary is slightly lower than the $1.7 million base Mr.
Akerson was paid.
Since taking over in January 2014, she has been managing an
ignition-switch safety crisis that overshadowed her initial months
in office.
Vehicle recall costs of $2.8 billion hurt Ms. Barra's overall
compensation, and the packages earned by other top executives.
Without those costs, GM would have achieved its goals for core
business operations, the company said.
GM initially set Ms. Barra's compensation target at $14.4
million. Pension changes, executive perks (such as private air
travel or financial counseling) and the value of previously
promised restricted stock are factors that led to the 12.5% extra
in compensation.
While her appointment as Detroit's first female auto chief was
celebrated, Ms. Barra had no time to do a victory lap. The
company's safety problems came to light in early 2014 and were
emblematic of an operating culture that shirked responsibility and
didn't take decisive action, even after GM's 2009 bankruptcy.
GM was bailed out by the Troubled Asset Relief Program in 2009,
and has for several years been restricted by compensation rules.
The government's sale of its equity ended an era of TARP
oversight.
Write to John D. Stoll at john.stoll@wsj.com
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