Service Type: Program Design
Decline of Stock Options in Incentive Programs
Balancing Short- and Long-Term Incentives
Transparency and Accountability in Proxy Statements
Creative Approaches to 3-Year Plans
Tailoring Executive Compensation Plans for Your Unique Business
President Biden Seeks Overhaul of Non-Compete Agreements
Using Discretion Effectively in your Annual Incentive Plan
Building Executive Compensation Strategies for IPO and SPAC Transactions
E&P Short-Term Incentive Design Reflects Changing Priorities
How Discretion Can be Used Effectively in Annual Incentive Plans
The Basics of SPACs
Compensation Considerations for Go-Public Transactions
What are Compensation Committees Discussing in 2021?
Factors to Consider When Projecting Future Trends Around Executive Compensation
How to Determine Executive Pay and Prevent Overpaying
Year Two of COVID-19: Don’t Forget about Good Governance
How and Why Pre-Commercial Biotech CEO Pay is Different – Part Four: Drivers of Say-on-Pay Results
Managing Compensation Complexity
The Impact of COVID-19 on Executive Compensation Programs
Challenges with Setting Annual Incentives Goals Amidst Uncertainty
Incorporating ESG Goals into Executive Compensation
Weighing ESG Metrics for Pay Plans
Lessons Learned: What will be the most critical governance issues companies must address post-pandemic?
Redefining Success – Incentive design and goal-setting in uncertain times
Back to the Basics: Re-examining Executive Compensation Design for the Upcoming New Year
Determining Annual Incentive Pay in a Pandemic
How and Why Pre-Commercial Biotech CEO Pay is Different – Part Three: East Coast vs. West Coast
2020 Meridian Corporate Governance and Incentive Design Survey
LTI Mix—Does ‘Performance’ Matter?
Meridian Webinar: COVID-19’s Impact on Incentive Plans
Impact of COVID-19 on 2020 Annual and In-Flight Long Term Incentives
Should ESG Metrics Be Included in Executive Incentive Plans?
Banking Industry Incentive Practices
How and Why Pre-Commercial Biotech CEO Pay is Different – Part Two: Founders vs. Non-Founders
COVID-19’s Incentive Impact: While Most Companies Wait, Companies with Early FYEs are Forced to Act
COVID-19 and Short-Term Incentive Designs
Our Meridian Client Update published May 28, 2020 discussed the impact of COVID-19 on 2020 Short-Term Incentive (STI) plans and how Committees may determine appropriate payouts (if any) at year-end. Payout decisions for 2020 STI in many instances will be impacted and driven by liquidity constraints, affordability, relative performance and/or investor expectations. The design for … Continued
How and Why Pre-Commercial Biotech CEO Pay is Different – Part One: Tailoring Pay to the Business
The Impact of COVID-19 on Chemical Companies and Their Annual Incentive Programs
Long-Term Incentives: Before, During and After COVID-19
In response to the constantly evolving COVID-19 pandemic, companies have announced a litany of executive compensation-related actions including layoffs, furloughs, base salary reductions and much more. For long-term incentives (“LTI”), most companies have adopted a “wait and see” approach with respect to issues like: modeling implications of a V, W or U-shaped recovery; valuing existing … Continued
Compensation Committees: What to Do With 2020 Bonus Plans?
At the onset of COVID-19, the popular advice for adjusting annual bonus pay was to “wait and see.” Now several weeks in, some companies have begun restructuring bonuses. What actions are they taking? In this episode, Chris Havey, Partner & Lead Consultant with Meridian Compensation Partners, explains what he’s witnessing across corporate boardrooms right now: … Continued
Banking Industry Response to COVID-19
Introduction The 2020 Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic represents one of the most significant global events in recent history, resulting in unprecedented impact on our country’s economy, its businesses and its people. For our financial services clients, initial priorities focused on the safety of employees and customers. At the same time, many banks were thrust into the … Continued
Stock Ownership Guidelines in Challenging Times
Stock ownership guidelines are nearly universal for both executives and directors. They help ensure alignment with shareholders by encouraging executives and outside directors to hold onto a substantial amount of company stock. They have historically not required a substantial open-market purchase of company stock. Rather, both executives and directors can typically meet their required guidelines … Continued
In-Flight Long Term Incentives—What, if Anything, Should Energy Companies be Doing?
The energy industry has some particular challenges with long-term incentives (LTI): • Multi-year equity value decline: Many energy companies entered 2020 with multiple years of underwater stock options and equity awards tracking well below their original grant date value. • New shocks to the system: COVID-19 has exacerbated the long term supply and demand imbalance … Continued
Predicting the Future of E&P Bonus Design
E&P bonus plans have historically aligned with growth and investment, focusing on volume (production and reserves) and cost reduction, measures that are more controllable by management and less impacted by commodity prices than earnings-based metrics. In recent years, investors and analysts have been increasingly critical of E&P bonus payout misalignment with shareholder returns and financial … Continued
COVID-19 and Short-Term Incentives
For many companies, it is unlikely that there will be significant (if any) payouts under the executive or managerial bonus plans for 2020. Alternatively, for those that do have payouts, it is similarly unlikely that plan mechanics alone will determine final earned awards. Rather, most will have to apply some degree of discretionary adjustments in … Continued
Survey Results: Oil & Gas Workforce and Compensation Strategies
Key Takeaways In our March survey results we reported an overwhelming majority of companies focused on emergency business actions and less on compensation considerations. As of the end of April, it appears companies have taken action on their now identified workforce and compensation strategies. Outlined below are some of the key takeaways. Impact on the … Continued
How should oil & gas companies approach their 2020 annual bonus?
“Wait and see” seems to be the mantra of the day, particularly when it comes to an energy company’s annual bonus plan. We think that’s a prudent approach for the moment, as much uncertainty remains among the energy industry and broader economy. However, as we think forward a few months, what alternatives might companies consider … Continued
Director Compensation: Key Considerations During COVID-19
Much like executive compensation, director pay will be met with institutional shareholder scrutiny in the months ahead. Investors and proxy advisors will scrutinize stock option awards, meeting fees, and whether board pay remains steady amid lay-offs and revenue declines. How should compensation committees navigate the challenges ahead? In this episode, Meridian Partner Bob Romanchek shares his … Continued
2020 Executive Compensation Trends and Developments
In the past year, several factors have driven change in the executive compensation landscape in the U.S. Each year, Meridian identifies key developments regarding how companies respond to these ever changing conditions. (Read last year’s survey here.) In 2019, numerous factors impacted the U.S. executive compensation landscape. An increased focus on environmental sustainability, diversity and inclusion … Continued