By Adam Swietek
As published in BankDirector.com By: Susan O’Donnell, Daniel Rodda| SEPTEMBER 13TH, 2017 Since 2010, banks have followed the Interagency Guidance on Sound Incentive Compensation Policies and reviewed their incentive plans to ensure they do not motivate inappropriate risk taking. However, incentive compensation in the retail business lines was often perceived as inconsequential and unlikely to … Continued
By Adam Swietek
Serving on the compensation committee has become a formidable challenge for most directors regardless of one’s background or career. Not only do compensation committees have to navigate a host of regulations and complex terminology, but over the last several years, shareholders have made a significant push towards transparency on how decisions are made. Bob Romanchek, … Continued
By Adam Swietek
From the July/August 2017 issue of NACD Directorship Visit NACDonline.org Meridian Compensation Partners has deep experience working with companies throughout the typical PE ownership life cycle—from public to private and back into the public markets through an initial public offering (IPO). In a recent interview, Meridian’s PE experts—Ryan Harvey, Matthew Isakson, Tom McNeill, and Marc … Continued
By Adam Swietek
The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) announced the 2017 NACD Directorship 100, the annual list that recognizes leading corporate directors, governance experts, and other influencers who impact boardroom practices and performance. NACD identifies these outstanding directors and governance professionals whose leadership is exemplary by participating in actual board work and influencing how that work … Continued
By Adam Swietek
Meridian Partner Matthew Isakson joins TK Kerstetter, host of Inside America’s Boardrooms, to discuss “Compensation Committee Best Practices: Pay Increases & Goal-Setting.” [embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRPVdmcqfyo[/embedyt] Get more insight into compensation committee goal setting from Matt Isakson and Boardroom Resources here: “4 Guiding Perspectives for Compensation Committee Goal Setting.”
By Adam Swietek
Find this article and more in the most recent issue of Equilar C-Suite magazine. Find past issues of C-Suite at Equilar.com. Boards walk a fine line to align director pay with shareholder value By Ryan Villard Boards of directors bridge the gap between investors and their executive teams, providing guidance and holding management accountable … Continued
By Adam Swietek
This article originally appeared on BankDirector.com. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) can create significant value for shareholders. Accordingly, bank executives should be rewarded when completing and integrating successful transactions. However, in today’s environment of heightened executive pay scrutiny, some approaches to providing additional compensation for M&A can result in criticism from shareholders and advisory firms such … Continued
By Adam Swietek
For the fifth consecutive year, Meridian Compensation Partners was recognized in Consulting magazine’s recently released list of the “Best Small Firms to Work For” in 2016. The rankings are based on an online survey of over 10,000 consultants working for over 300 firms. Meridian ranked #11 on the magazine’s list. Consulting ranked participating firms and … Continued
By Adam Swietek
This blog is Part 2 in a Boardroom Resources series on compensation committees chairs. We identify the steps necessary for a smooth transition and outline action items for key players. In Part 1, we discussed how the role of the compensation chair is becoming increasingly complex and public-facing. While three years was once a common … Continued
By Adam Swietek
This blog is Part 1 in a Boardroom Resources series on compensation committee chairs. We discuss why rotating your compensation chair too quickly could impact your committee’s effectiveness. Read Part 2 here. Compensation committees face a tall order in today’s business environment. With regulators and investors shining brighter lights on executive pay, much of the … Continued
By Adam Swietek
From the July/August 2016 issue of NACD Directorship Visit NACDonline.org As one of the largest independent advisory firms, Meridian Compensation Partners is uniquely positioned to guide committees through pivotal events such as IPOs, spins, or separations where a company is entering the public markets. In a recent interview, Meridian’s IPO experts Ryan Harvey, Marc Ullman, … Continued
By Adam Swietek
LAKE FOREST, ILL. — July 11, 2016 — Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC, a leading executive compensation and corporate governance consulting firm, announced today that the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) has recognized managing partners, Michael J. Powers and Jim Wolf, as being among the nation’s most influential leaders in corporate governance, for the fourth … Continued
By Adam Swietek
[su_youtube_advanced url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWvlKEgotvE&feature=youtu.be” width=”700″ height=”420″ responsive=”no” rel=”no” fs=”no”][youtube_channel][/su_youtube_advanced] In this video from NACD Online, Meridian Compensation Partners lead consultant Matt Isakson sits down with Christopher Y. Clark, publisher of NACD Directorship magazine, to discuss executive compensation timelines as part of the Leading Minds of Compensation (West) event. View the entire panel here.
By Adam Swietek
[su_youtube_advanced url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMVEeD7uRmc” width=”700″ height=”420″ responsive=”no” rel=”no” fs=”no”][youtube_channel][/su_youtube_advanced] In this video, Meridian Partner Jared Berman sits down with TK Kerstetter of “Inside America’s Boardrooms” to discuss three issues that should be on the compensation committee agenda.
By Adam Swietek
Matt Isakson, lead consultant in Meridian’s San Francisco office, will be participating in an Equilar program titled “Fundamentals for New Public Companies” on May 24, 2016 in East Palo Alto, California. The program will cover a number of relevant issues for companies that have recently gone public. Agenda highlights include: Myths & Realities of Shareholder … Continued
By Adam Swietek
LAKE FOREST, ILL. — March 9, 2016 — Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC, a leading executive compensation and corporate governance consulting firm, announced today the opening of its Los Angeles office, Meridian’s tenth location in North America. Now with two offices in California (San Francisco and Los Angeles), Meridian is poised to expand its West Coast … Continued
By Adam Swietek
In this article from Corporate Board Member‘s Board Governance Series, Bob Romanchek, Partner, discusses pay considerations when hiring a new CEO from outside the organization. This article, which is a condensed, edited version of a webcast available online, is designed to supplement boardroom discussion. A full video presentation and the associated webcasts are available from … Continued
By Adam Swietek
The fundamentals of good compensation committee governance have evolved over the years as executive compensation has become more complicated, more visible and more controversial. The goals of such processes are to ensure that the following goals are met: Enough time is provided to consider proposals in full, from multiple angles; Appropriate competitive information and analysis … Continued
By Adam Swietek
It is good governance to establish in advance a Compensation Committee Calendar for the full year. Topics and timing should be pre-determined and agreed-upon. Following is a sample calendar. Executive sessions are presumed to take place at each meeting. First Quarter Approve merit budgets, salary increases and other changes to pay opportunities Evaluate CEO and … Continued
By Adam Swietek
The Basics What are change-in-control arrangements? Executive change-in-control arrangements generally refer to any severance, payments or special benefits that are provided to an individual in connection with a change in control (CIC) of the company. A CIC is typically defined to include such transactions as a merger in which the executive’s company is the smaller … Continued
By Adam Swietek
The Basics What are executive severance arrangements? General executive severance arrangements generally refer to any severance, payments or special benefits that are provided to an individual due to a termination from the company. General severance is provided for terminations not related to a change in control (“CIC”). CIC-severance arrangements are a separate topic. Typically, general … Continued
By Adam Swietek
The Basics What are stock ownership guidelines? A stock ownership guideline is a policy created by the compensation or governance committee which establishes the level of stock ownership that is expected for the executives or outside directors of a company. A majority of public companies in the U.S. and Canada now have ownership guidelines for … Continued
By Adam Swietek
Overall Compensation Design Non-executive members of corporate boards are generally paid for their service. The overall compensation structure typically includes an annual retainer, committee meeting fees and/or retainers, and a non-retainer equity grant. In recent years, many companies have adopted a structure with a higher retainer and no meeting fees. The actual level of pay … Continued
By Adam Swietek
Meridian Compensation Partners was named one of the 2015 “Best Firms to Work For” by Consulting magazine. From a pool of more than 300 firms, Meridian placed 2nd in the Best Small Firms category, up from 10th in 2014. This marks the fourth year that Meridian has received this honor — in just over five … Continued
By Adam Swietek
NACD Directorship magazine recently announced its honorees for its 2015 Directorship 100. Meridian Compensation Partner’s Michael Powers and Jim Wolf were both included in the list, for the third year in a row. With the Directorship 100, NACD identifies the most influential people in the boardroom community for a given year, including governance experts, journalists, … Continued
By Adam Swietek
Introductory Comments from Matt Isakson, Lead Consultant As discussed last week in Seattle, the Compensation Committee’s review of management’s proposed goals is now a primary focus for directors. There are many tools available to the Compensation Committee to help assess the goals from an objective perspective. On a related note, the SEC’s proposed no fault … Continued
By Adam Swietek
Meridian Compensation Partners is an independent consulting firm advising clients on executive compensation and governance matters. While Meridian serves companies in all industries, a dedicated team of consultants specializes in assisting compensation committees for financial services companies. Meridian’s Susan C. O’Donnell and Daniel Rodda fielded questions about the issues unique to this industry. What are … Continued
By Adam Swietek
Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC, a leading executive compensation and corporate governance consulting firm, announced today the opening of its San Francisco office, Meridian’s ninth location in North America. Leading Meridian’s presence in San Francisco is Matthew (Matt) Isakson, Lead Consultant. Matt has been with Meridian since the firm’s founding in 2010, and has broad experience … Continued
By Adam Swietek
Watch Bob Romanchek, Partner, join TK Kerstetter, host of “Inside Boardrooms,” to discuss… “Is Your Compensation Committee Ready For What Lies Ahead?”
By Adam Swietek
As banks prepare for their annual shareholder meetings, most will have a say-on-pay vote where shareholders indicate whether they support the executive compensation program. This process has pressured companies to improve their compensation disclosures and clearly explain their pay practices and decisions. Today’s bank boards should engage with shareholders to understand their evolving perspectives on … Continued
By Adam Swietek
Hiring and retaining the right hospital leaders and ensuring that they achieve the organization’s goals are among the board’s most important functions, and executive compensation plays a major role in the success of those efforts. However, preconceived notions about executive compensation may hurt hiring and retention efforts. By taking a closer look at 10 long-standing … Continued