Thomson Reuters CEO Thomas Glocer pulled down $9.45 million in compensation for 2009, the first full year of the combined operations of Thomson and Reuters. Excluding a substantial grant Glocer received for work in integrating the companies, the more usual sources of income gave him $8.5 million for 2008. That information came in preparation for the annual meeting at which the directors are supporting a resolution giving shareholders a non-binding say on executive compensation.
Glocer's pay in 2008 was boosted by the special grant of $26.1 million in restricted stock units. The report filed with the SEC shows the company paid out just under $55 million in special grants to five executives for their work on the integration. The other big chunks were the $15.9 million awarded to Devin Wenig, CEO of the markets Division and just under $8 million to CFO Robert Daleo. Another $7 million was paid to two former executives, with $5 million of that going to former Thomson CEO Richard Harrington, who retired when the Reuters acquisition closed.
Glocer's base pay has remained unchanged at $1.5 million since April 2008 and the company kept it that way for 2010, saying it chooses to offer more opportunity in variable compensation, such as his target bonus of 200 percent of his annual salary. In fact, before the merger, Glocer received a base of $1.67 million. The CEO also had unvested share-based awards valued at $22.5 million at the end of 2009, while Daleo had $11.8 million and Wenig $11.4 million in that category.
Among the other executives, Daleo had $4.9 million in compensation last year; Wenig, $4.7 million, and James Smith, president of the professional division, $4.5 million. Each of the three receive a $1 million annual base salary. None of the top executives received an increase in base pay as the company held the line in 2009 because of the recesssion.
The company, in explaining its support for the non-binding advisory vote on compensation, said that the resolution is a recommended best practice of the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance. The annual meeting is scheduled for May 14 in Toronto with a live Webcast in London.
Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards. Scott has made frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist and events serving tax and accounting professionals. He has a strong background in computer journalism as an editor with two former trade publications, Computer+Software News and MIS Week and spent several years with weekly and daily newspapers in Morris County New Jersey prior to that. A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Bob is a native of Madison, Ind
