General Motors will pay new CEO Dan Akerson $1.7 million in cash annually
By Andrew, 12 Sep, 2010. 0 Comments
Dan Akerson
As part of General Motors Co.’s long-term incentive plan, new CEO Dan Akerson will receive $1.7 million in cash annually, plus $5.3 million in stock over the next three years. Akerson will also get $2 million in restricted stock, according to a regulatory filing from GM. On Sept. 1, Akerson, who is 61 years old, took over as CEO from Ed Whitacre so that GM would have a longer-term executive. Nonetheless, Whitacre who is 68 years old will remain as chairman until the end of the year. GM, which is 61% owned by the US Treasury, is preparing an initial public offering to start getting itself out of the clutches of government ownership.
Akerson is a former managing director of the Carlyle Group. In an interview, David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan, said that Akerson’s compensation is “relatively small” when compared to other industries. He also said that the heads in the automotive industry “aren't at the top of the compensation pyramid like they were 30 or 40 years ago.”
In the last 18 months, there had been a succession of four CEOs at GM. Following its bankruptcy in June 2009, GM had received a $50 billion taxpayer bailout. GM’s latest regulatory filing revealed that Whitacre, who became chairman in July 2009 and CEO in December, will receive $300,000 for his four months that he remains on board. Akerson's compensation package is a match to one GM planned for Whitacre that was disclosed in a regulatory report filed on Feb. 19. Noreen Pratscher, a GM spokeswoman, said that GM’s board and the special master on executive compensation for the Troubled Asset Relief Program decided on Akerson's pay. [via autonews - sub. required]
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