Comcast CEO named among five most ‘overpaid’
Comcast’s (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Brian Roberts has been named one of the top five most overpaid CEOs by the Corporate Library, a corporate governance research and analysis firm.
Roberts’ total 2008 compensation of $40.8 million included a $2.7 million base salary and over $22 million in stock options, plus bonuses totalling nearly $8.3 million.
While the cable company’s stock has done well in the past 12 months, the Corporate Library said, it has lagged the industry in recent years and was down nearly 7% in 2008. Comcast, in its defense, pointed out that the company is facing unprecedented economic and competitive challenges these days.
No telecom industry CEOs made the top five, which may help the sector’s tarnished reputation in such matters. In the Library’s 2006 report, four out of 11 overpaid CEOs worked in the telecom industry; no other sector had nearly as much representation on the list.
Last week, AT&T and Cisco Systems joined a group of companies pledging to adopt compensation policies set forth by another research firm, the Conference Board, that are aimed at closer ties between pay and performance.
