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The potential dilutive effect of option granting practices over the past decade has been the subject of intense investor interest – and many companies are now taking action in response to this uprising. Learn more about equity burn rates in this excellent article from ISS.

Tomorrow’s D&O Insurance Webcast

On TheCorporateCounsel.net, don’t forget tomorrow’s, Wednesday, April 13th webcast – “D&O Insurance Today” – during which Joseph McLaughlin of Simpson Thacher, Patricia Villareal of Jones Day, and Kit Chaskin of Sachnoff & Weaver will analyze why you should be taking a second look at your D&O insurance policies – and provide practical guidance about what to do about your policies today.

Now That’s My Kind of CEO!

Perusing the special CEO pay supplement in yesterday’s WSJ, I loved this interview with Biomet CEO Dane Miller so much that I just had to copy an excerpt. Note that Dane’s salary just passed $500k for the first time and that the other NEOs get paid nearly the same as him. Here is a fraction of the interview:

WSJ: Does shared greed mean the board becomes captive of management?

Dr. Miller: Some organizations that pay their senior management large sums also tend to pay their boards large money. They tend to want to keep each other happy.

WSJ: Should your cash compensation more closely reflect your employer’s record results?

Dr. Miller: Earnings grow on behalf of shareholders. If revenues and earnings should drop, I would expect my compensation program to go in that direction as well. But I don’t think there is any direct connection between the growth in revenues or earnings and what a company should compensate its CEO. If everybody’s pay increase paralleled the increase in revenues and earnings, the company’s results wouldn’t increase.

WSJ: But isn’t that what pay for performance is all about?

Dr. Miller: Our compound annual growth rate approaches 20% in both earnings and revenues. Taking the 20% growth number back 20 years, the corporation probably couldn’t afford me today.

WSJ: Clearly, collecting a huge salary would bother you — especially when you walk around the factory floor talking to workers earning $15 or $20 an hour. What else makes you uncomfortable about making an obscene amount as CEO?

Dr. Miller: Everyone should have a little problem making an obscene amount of money on the backs of shareholders.