Management Pool Size / CEO Compensation

professional profile

February 10, 2021

by a professional from University of Colorado at Boulder in Colorado Springs, CO, USA

It's a deal with $100M in Value Creation over 5 years... I need to pay powerful CEO and Management team. Any guidelines, suggestions, benchmarks? I'm thinking 6% of value creation total for both - 3% for management team and 3% for CEO. Any thoughts, feedback, cautionary tales?

4
18
350
Replies
18
commentor profile
Reply by a searcher
in Seattle, WA, USA
A few random thoughts...

You'll need a clear definition of "value", and "creation", not only to differentiate from what is there already (or close enough in potential to perhaps be excluded in the reckoning), but also because perception of value will change over time, and indeed the nature of the value itself may change. The possible change vectors are myriad and five years is both an eye-blink and an eternity. Does a new market opportunity count? How about an acquisition? Etc...

There's also some variance in perception and, of course, responsibilities within the team. Do you keep the numbers the same for all to keep things "fair"? Some may see a number as a pittance, whereas others may see a windfall.. Similarly the nature of their roles may constrain (or magnify) the effect of their contributions, not to mention the potential influence of larger events such as already alluded to above.

Would also be good to set some "stretch goals", as well as some minimums to be measured against periodically.

Finally, all these numbers (and how they are effected "traditionally") can vary widely by industry, it would be worth seeing what typical numbers are in this sector as a baseline to work from.
commentor profile
Reply by a searcher
from National University of Ireland, Galway in Seattle, WA, USA
My 2c is you need the CEO and senior team to be equally motivated. Say there is a 5 person exec then you are proposing a 5 to 1 ratio. That is too big a gap. I would revise to 3 to one max. This actually helps the CEO succeed. Do not rely on reward as a substitute for setting a very clear articulation of the goal. It's never simply hitting a single financial metric. It would be fabulous to have a possible 2 or 3X upside for exceptional performance. Might not be possible for the stage the business is at. Can be faster or bigger. Time is money. Obviously you get X gains as well. The cautionary tale is what happens to morale when a goal becomes infeasible. The former motivation then becomes demotivation. Plan what to do if the value creation becomes a value rescue mission.. Maybe you need a new team but keep that as your decision so you don't get a sudden collapse. .
commentor profile
+16 more replies.
Join the discussion