Executive pay Because he’s worth it

Executive pay
高管薪酬

Because he’s worth it
名至实归

Does John Hammergren deserve to be the latest face of executive excess?
约翰•哈姆格伦是否应该出现在《企业高管薪酬报告》中？①


THIS has been a bumper year for John Hammergren. The boss of McKesson, a big American wholesaler of drugs and other health-care supplies, pocketed total compensation of $52m in the year to March, a nice rise on the $46m he received in 2011. But like Liberace he will be crying all the way to the bank, given the hostile reaction from shareholder activists. They are urging not just a “no” in the “say on pay” vote at the firm’s annual meeting later this month but a vote against his re-election to the board.

上一个财年真是约翰•哈姆格伦的丰收年。哈姆格伦是美国大型药品及医疗用品批发商麦克森公司的老板。在2012年4月到2013年3月的这个财年里，哈姆格伦共获得了5200万美元的薪酬收入，与2011年的4600万美元相比增长令人满意。但这却让某些股东深感不满，他们不但试图通过投票否决薪酬方案，还想阻止哈姆格伦在董事会连任。对此哈姆格伦的反应估计将会是像李伯拉斯那样：“一路哭到银行”②。

The campaign is being led by the pension fund of Change to Win, a trade union. It describes Mr Hammergren’s pay package as “one of the most exorbitant” among S&P 500 companies. It is especially unhappy with his pension, which accounted for $24.2m of his latest pay package. Mr Hammergren’s pension pot is now $159m—more than any other current boss’s.

“变革求胜”（Change to Win）工会旗下的退休基金领导了反对哈姆格伦连任的运动。该机构认为哈姆格伦的薪酬包在S&P 500公司中是“最出格的”。哈姆格伦去年的养老金为2420万美金，特别让这家退休基金感到不满。哈姆格伦的养老金池已达1.59亿美元，比其他任何一位在任的高管都高。

Last year only 63% of shareholders voted in favour of McKesson’s executive pay. Given the reluctance of many institutional shareholders to vote against management, this amounted to an expression of deep discontent. According to the Manhattan Institute, a think-tank, at the 250 largest publicly traded American firms so far this year only 7% of shareholder resolutions have succeeded in getting a majority of votes, the lowest since at least 2006. And just two of these firms have lost a say-on-pay vote.

去年只有63%的股东投票赞成麦克森公司的高管薪酬方案。鉴于许多机构投资者不愿意对公司的管理提案投反对票，这个结果表明，许多股东已经相当不满了。智库曼哈顿研究所发现，今年美国250家最大的上市公司中只有7%的股东提案能够获得大多数投票的支持，这是自2006年以来的最低值，但其中只有两家公司的薪酬方案未获通过。

McKesson says that in response to the criticism it has made improvements to its pay structure, including reducing total direct compensation and the value of share options. But the company also argues that it is seeking to give its bosses strong incentives to deliver long-term value to shareholders, pointing out that 92% of Mr Hammergren’s pay is performance-related.

面对批评，麦克森集团表示已对薪酬结构进行了优化，包括减少直接薪酬数额及降低期权激励额度等。但该公司也表示将继续为高管提供强力激励，以鼓励他们为股东带来长期的回报，并指出哈姆格伦的薪酬中有92%是与业绩挂钩的。

Indeed, on this score his pay is not outrageous, at least by the generous standards of corporate remuneration. His pension, for example, has been accumulated over 14 years, which puts it in line with those given to bosses of other big companies (who often serve shorter terms). Its sharp rise in value in 2013 was largely due to changes in the interest-rate assumptions made by actuaries.

确实，从这个角度看哈姆格伦的薪酬并不过分，至少没有超过待遇好的企业的薪酬水平。以他的养老金为例，由于已经累计了14年，所以总金额达到了某些大公司老板的水平，而后者的在任时间往往比较短。哈姆格伦的养老金在2013年之所以急剧增加，主要是因为精算师更新了利率参数。

When Mr Hammergren took over in April 2001, McKesson’s share price was $27; now it is $115—a rise of about 325% in a period in which the S&P 500 index rose by just 40%. His combined rewards over the period represent about 3% of the $19 billion increase in the company’s stockmarket value. For many people, no amount of outperformance can justify such extravagant compensation. Hard-nosed investors may see it as a reasonable deal—and will be wishing that other handsomely paid bosses delivered such healthy returns.

2001年4月哈姆格伦接掌麦克森的时候，其股价为27美元。现在的股价是115美元，上涨了325%，而同期S&P500指数仅上涨了40%。哈姆格伦上任以来该公司市值增长了190亿美元，而他所获得的各种回报只不过是这一数值的3%。有的人觉得业绩再好也不该给这么离谱的薪酬，但精明的投资者可能会认为这样的交易很划算。他们甚至希望，其他享受着巨额薪酬的老板们也能带来如此丰厚的回报。