Executive compensation

Analysis of college coach compensation shows how hard it is to align pay with performance.

Investors should provide money, information, and discipline. They often fall short.

It’s a given by now that the general public, many shareholders, and a number of well-placed government officials agree that there is indeed a problem with executive compensation at publicly traded U.S. companies. What’s not as well known is that, according to surveys, a significant portion of independent board members believe that executive pay (including […]

It's up to shareholders, not politicians, to make change happen.

Leaders’ pay should be tied to corporate mission, not strategy.

Top female executives usually start out with pay comparable to their male counterparts', but a gap emerges and increases over the course of their tenure....

When stock prices were rising and job markets were booming, no-one was too fussed to see CEOs and top bankers rake in their mammoth bonuses. It was the tolerable price we paid for a healthy capitalist system. These people took smart bets and fairly earned the rewards. Fair play to them. With the Dow off […]

A roundup of recent research.

*The truth is buried in the fine print—and that’s a problem.

We have ‘80s corporate raiders to thank.

So far, it seems to be working.

It’s also the case in societies with more tolerance for inequality.

The case against bonuses and stock options.

Competition suffers when the same institutions own rival firms.

To change CEOs' behavior, we need to change the numbers we measure and emphasize.

Employees notice hypocrisy.

Despite their popularity, pay-for-performance incentives haven't worked as well as proponents had expected. Research by Alexander Pepper, of the London...

Big banks have become too complex for boards to govern them effectively, writes a former top executive at Bank of America and Citigroup. Directors need...

Executive pay is making people’s blood boil. No one is neutral about it. When President Obama last night said, “I will not spend a single penny for the purpose of rewarding a single Wall Street executive,” I could almost hear millions cheering across the country, but also thousands of executives–and aspiring executives–snorting in exasperation at what could be seen as a backlash against […]

A look at the components of executive compensation--salary, bonuses, stock options, restricted stock, and others--and the forces that have caused some...

The case describes Ball's multi decade history of using Economic Value Added to drive decision making and workforce compensation. In 2016, the company...

Describes the AFL-CIO: Office of Investments activities in their campaign to improve governance at Home Depot by calling attention to Home Depot CEO Robert...

CEO Kelly Browne wrestles with the design and roll-out of a new compensation system to promote the collaboration necessary for supporting her firm's new...

In May 2021, the majority shareholder and chief executive officer of Ontrak Inc., a US health care services company, established two 10b5-1 trading plans...

Set in early-2017, this case examines widespread sales misconduct at Wells Fargo Community Bank. Wells Fargo's governance and controls are described in...

Morning Star, a collection of affiliated companies, had grown steadily since 1970 when Chris Rufer, president and founder, started the business hauling...

Chase Russell grew up surrounded by his family's car wash business but had no desire to take it over. While in college, this perspective shifted suddenly...

This case examines Gap Inc. as a trailblazer in gender pay equality with a focus on investing in gender equity in leadership. Since Gap Inc. made history...

The founders of Lynx Solutions have survived major challenges within their board of directors, the firing of Lynx's founder-CEO and departure of its successor...

TJX Companies reported a CEO pay ratio of 1,596-to-1 in 2019, leaving board chair Carol Meyrowitz with a host of questions about whether, and how, she...

In October 2019, the McDonald's Corporation board of directors, chaired by Enrique Hernandez, Jr., gathered to learn the results of their outside counsel's...

In November 2014, The Dow Chemical Company was faced with the prospect of a proxy battle with prominent hedge fund and activist investor Third Point Management....

In 2006, David Zucker, chief executive officer of Midway Games, came under fire for selling a significant amount of Midway stock just weeks before a precipitous...

Supplement for case 110047

Describes a proposed buyout transaction of Autodistribution, an entrepreneurial firm that is the leading car-parts distributor in France. The deal became...

Continuation of the 'Tale of the Lynx' case series.

Provides a glossary of executive compensation terms. Rewritten by G.W. Baird, company partner.

Analysis of college coach compensation shows how hard it is to align pay with performance.

A roundtable conversation appraises the 50-year reign of shareholder primacy and the growing backlash against it today.

Investors should provide money, information, and discipline. They often fall short.

Harvard Business Review publishes new and authoritative ideas for improving the practice of management. Written by leading business thinkers and executives,...

It’s a given by now that the general public, many shareholders, and a number of well-placed government officials agree that there is indeed a problem with executive compensation at publicly traded U.S. companies. What’s not as well known is that, according to surveys, a significant portion of independent board members believe that executive pay (including […]

The case describes Ball's multi decade history of using Economic Value Added to drive decision making and workforce compensation. In 2016, the company...

Describes the AFL-CIO: Office of Investments activities in their campaign to improve governance at Home Depot by calling attention to Home Depot CEO Robert...

It's up to shareholders, not politicians, to make change happen.