Corning Inc. Execs earned more in 2007
Corning Inc.'s top brass earned 13.5 percent more in 2007 compared to the year before, largely due to the company's recent financial success.
The company's five top executives earned approximately $32.8 million last year compared to $28.9 million in 2006, according to Corning Inc.'s proxy statement, released Monday.
Corning also announced its annual shareholder meeting will be held at 11 a.m. April 24 at the Corning Museum of Glass.
The executives' pay increase was due in part to a 4 percent annual increase in their base salaries. Performance incentives such as stock options and other forms of compensation - perks including use of the company plane - also increased.
Wendell P. Weeks, 48, chairman and CEO, received a base salary of $990,000, $2.1 in performance incentives, $6.04 million in stock and option awards, and $209,122 in other forms of compensation.
Weeks' total compensation was valued at $9.28 million.
The company's leaders met their targets for performance and were given the maximum in compensation, according to the document. In 2007, Corning earned $2.15 billion, or $1.34 a share, up from $1.85 billion, or $1.16 per share in 2006.
Sales reached $5.86 billion last year, up from $5.17 billion.
The only change the Board of Directors Compensation Committee made regarding executive pay in 2007 was to require certain executives to retain "meaningful ownership of Corning stock," according to the proxy statement.
The CEO must maintain stock equal to five times his or her base salary. Other top executives must have stock worth three times their base salaries.
All of the executives currently have more than the required amount of stock, said John MacMahon, Corning Inc.'s senior vice president, Global Compensation and Benefits.
Directors want executives to have a certain amount of stock in the company so they can feel like shareholders and better understand the affects of their own decisions regarding the company, he said.
Also on the agenda for the shareholder meeting will be the election of four directors - John Seely Brown, Gordon Gund, Kurt Landgraf and H. Onno Ruding - to new three-year terms, and the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the company's independent auditor for 2008.
The company submitted one proposal to its shareholders regarding the employee equity plan. Directors want to extend the deadline on the program by three years.
There were no shareholder proposals submitted.