When you’re at the tippy-top among technology executives, companies hand out some pretty nice treats. Among the perquisites for those in this year’s Baseline ranking are home security systems, car allowances, country club memberships and use of the corporate aircraft for personal trips.
But in these days of close corporate scrutiny, the perks might not last, says Stephen Coffey, vice president of recruiting at Sheila Greco Associates, a recruiting firm in Amsterdam, N.Y. “Combine that with all the outsourcing going on and [CIO] becomes a tactical job,” Coffey says. “That, in turn, can affect these aspects of compensation.”
Still, the technology executives on our list enjoy a host of extras, and thanks to new Securities and Exchange Commission rules requiring more detail about compensation, we now know more about them.
The full measure of perquisites for everyone in this year’s ranking isn’t clear because some companies filed pay information before the SEC’s new compensation rules went into effect. But it’s safe to say financial planning services are popular, with at least 15 of the 52 executives on our list receiving an average of $9,300 in company money with which to pay someone to tell them what to do with their own money.
A car allowance was part of the compensation package for nine people on our list. Linda Goodspeed of Lennox International got the biggest car allowance, $16,000.
Then there are those nice cash allowances. Larry Kittelberger at Honeywell got $50,000 to spend on items “including, but not limited to, tax and financial planning, car leases, and executive life insurance,” according to SEC filings. Other extra-cash recipients include Tim Shack at PNC Financial, who received $49,000 in such funds, David Johns at Owens Corning ($28,838) and Ameriprise’s Glen Salow ($25,000).
At least six executives spent part of 2006 winging through the skies in personal use of the company plane, including Jeff Fox at Alltel, who took $80,000 worth of flights; Bruce Goodman at Humana, whose plane perks amounted to $30,500; and Bill Chenevich at US Bancorp, with $7,600. Those amounts include the cost of in-flight catering. Sure beats coach.
