NEW YORK, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Comcast Corp Chief Executive Brian Roberts and his fellow top executives will forgo a pay rise in 2009, the company said in a regulatory filing on Friday.
Roberts will also cut back his personal benefits, including a previous agreement which had guaranteed the payment of his base salary and annual cash bonus for up to five years following his death. He relinquished other benefits, including reimbursement and tax-related payments for two life insurance policies.
In 2007, Roberts, who is also chairman of the board, was paid a total annual package of $20.8 million including a $2.64 million base salary plus bonus and other stock-related compensation.
The size of Roberts' compensation, particularly in the possible event of death, has been questioned in the past. Corporate governance watchers describe such executive compensation packages in the event of death as 'golden coffins.'
In February 2008, Roberts' father Ralph Roberts, who founded Comcast, decided to lower his annual salary to $1 for the rest of his tenure on the board and to drop a controversial pay package that would have paid out $1.85 million a year for five years after his death.
The new Comcast executive pay agreements were confirmed at a board meeting earlier this week.
Other executives including Chief Financial Officer Michael Angelakis, Chief Operating Officer Stephen Burke and Executive Vice President David Cohen all agreed not to receive any increase in each of their base salaries in 2009.
Comcast usually files details of its executives' compensation for the previous year at the end of March or early April.
(Reporting by Yinka Adegoke; editing by Richard Chang)
((e-mail:yinka.adegoke@thomsonreuters.com Reuters Messaging: Yinka.adegoke.reuters.com@reuters.net; +1 646 223 6081)) Keywords: COMCAST/ (Click on http://blogs.reuters.com/category/themes/mediafile/ to see Reuters MediaFile blog) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Roberts will also cut back his personal benefits, including a previous agreement which had guaranteed the payment of his base salary and annual cash bonus for up to five years following his death. He relinquished other benefits, including reimbursement and tax-related payments for two life insurance policies.
In 2007, Roberts, who is also chairman of the board, was paid a total annual package of $20.8 million including a $2.64 million base salary plus bonus and other stock-related compensation.
The size of Roberts' compensation, particularly in the possible event of death, has been questioned in the past. Corporate governance watchers describe such executive compensation packages in the event of death as 'golden coffins.'
In February 2008, Roberts' father Ralph Roberts, who founded Comcast, decided to lower his annual salary to $1 for the rest of his tenure on the board and to drop a controversial pay package that would have paid out $1.85 million a year for five years after his death.
The new Comcast executive pay agreements were confirmed at a board meeting earlier this week.
Other executives including Chief Financial Officer Michael Angelakis, Chief Operating Officer Stephen Burke and Executive Vice President David Cohen all agreed not to receive any increase in each of their base salaries in 2009.
Comcast usually files details of its executives' compensation for the previous year at the end of March or early April.
(Reporting by Yinka Adegoke; editing by Richard Chang)
((e-mail:yinka.adegoke@thomsonreuters.com Reuters Messaging: Yinka.adegoke.reuters.com@reuters.net; +1 646 223 6081)) Keywords: COMCAST/ (Click on http://blogs.reuters.com/category/themes/mediafile/ to see Reuters MediaFile blog) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.