By Liam Pleven
One of the highest-paid female executives in the U.S. is taking
a pay cut.
Annaly Capital Management Inc., the nation's largest real-estate
investment trust focused on residential mortgages, on Monday said
Wellington Denahan will step down as chief executive in
September.
Ms. Denahan, who co-founded Annaly, will remain the firm's
chairman and assume the new title of executive chairman.
Kevin Keyes, Annaly's current president, will also take on the
role of chief executive on Sept. 30, the New York company
announced.
Ms. Denahan, 51 years old, has garnered attention as one of the
highest paid female executives in the U.S. She made $35 million in
2011, when she was the company's chief investment officer and chief
operating officer, according to a securities filing.
In recent years, Annaly has switched to an arrangement in which
company managers are employed by an outside firm and run the
company under a contract with Annaly. Under this arrangement, the
compensation Ms. Denahan and others receive isn't disclosed.
Ms. Denahan said her compensation as executive chairman "will
not be comparable" to her current pay. Mr. Keyes, 47, said he
hadn't discussed his compensation as CEO with the board of
directors.
Ms. Denahan said in an interview the change will allow her to
focus on "the aspects of the business that are the most important
in the long term." She said that Mr. Keyes "has more energy than I
do at this point for the day-to-day."
Mr. Keyes said he and Ms. Denahan have worked together closely
for years. "It's not like it's a dramatic change," he said.
Annaly invests mainly in residential mortgages backed by
mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which sets it apart
from other real-estate investment trusts, or REITs, that focus on
shopping malls, office buildings and the like.
Dan Altscher, a senior research analyst at FBR Capital Markets,
said the change could be seen as a sign that challenges lie ahead
for the firm if the Federal Reserve moves ahead with its plans to
raise interest rates.
At the same time, he said some investors might want the company
to buy back shares, which he said it hasn't done in recent years,
and they might hope a change at the top will prompt that move.
Mr. Keyes said "We're always considering all our options."
Write to Liam Pleven at liam.pleven@wsj.com
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