ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER $100,721
AN ANALYSIS OF TOTAL 2007 COMPENSATION FOR CEO WAYNE LEONARD AND OTHER TOP ENTERGY EXECUTIVES
According to Entergy’s 2008 proxy statement, the Board of Directors awarded CEO Wayne Leonard total compensation worth $26.2 million during 2007. This amounted to an increase of more than 77% over Leonard’s total compensation of $14.8 million in 2006.
Leonard’s 2007 compensation package included the following:
| Salary | $1,216,443 |
| Stock Awards | 15,727,171 |
| Option Awards | 2,468,256 |
| Non-Equity Incentive Plan Payments | 1,815,480 |
| Change in Pension Value | 4,879,200 |
| Other Compensation | 80,960 |
| Total | $26,187,510 |
Leonard’s 2007 compensation works out to $100,721 per day, or $12,590 per hour.
Entergy awarded more than $42 million during 2007 to only five top executives:
| J. Wayne Leonard | Chairman & CEO | $26,187,510 |
| Leo P. Denault | Executive VP & CFO | 4,047,338 |
| Mark T. Savoff | Executive VP – Operations | 3,428,297 |
| Richard J. Smith | Group President – Utility Operations | 4,339,499 |
| Gary J. Taylor | Executive VP – Chief Nuclear Operator | 4,312,078 |
| Total | $42,314,722 |
We believe that these amounts are clearly excessive, and moreover that even a public perception that an investor-owned public utility such as Entergy is awarding excessive pay to top executives can be damaging to our Company’s business and reputation.
Following the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, for example, Entergy successfully lobbied public officials for $200 million in taxpayer-funded relief to help repair the damage to Entergy New Orleans.
In Entergy’s 2008 proxy statement, our Board cited this $200 million in federal funds as one of the reasons directors approved these executive pay levels. In other words, Entergy executives scored a big payday in part because the Company succeeded in persuading public regulators to finance recovery costs from this tragic natural disaster.
During 2006 and 2007, Entergy’s Board of Directors awarded the equivalent of nearly 35% of the entire federal bailout for Entergy New Orleans as compensation packages for only five employees over this two-year period.
In our view, it is unseemly for a public utility holding company to award such excessive compensation to a handful of top executives – especially at a time the Company is lobbying public officials for taxpayer relief from a catastrophic natural disaster.
We also think Entergy’s executive compensation is excessive in comparison to comparable utility companies. In fact, each of the following utility companies awarded less compensation to their CEOs during 2007, despite posting higher total revenues and net income:
Utility Industry CEO Compensation – 2007
(ranked by CEO pay) (in millions)
| Company | Total CEO Pay | Annual Revenue | Net Income |
| Entergy Corp. | $26.2 | $11,484 | $1,135 |
| Exelon | 19.5 | 18,916 | 2,736 |
| FirstEnergy Corp. | 15.6 | 12,802 | 1,309 |
| Dominion Resources | 15.1 | 15,674 | 2,539 |
| Southern Co. | 11.0 | 15,353 | 1,734 |
| FPL Group | 10.5 | 15,263 | 1,312 |
| Duke Energy | 9.9 | 12,720 | 1,500 |
| PSEG | 5.1 | 12,853 | 1,335 |
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