CHICAGOBUSINESS.COM | MAY 29, 2023 | $3.50
FORUM I CHICAGO’S NEXT CHAPTER
JOHNSON’S
AMBITIOUS AGENDA Will he be able to build alliances and win the resources to fulfill his vision? PAGE 11
FIND THE COMPLETE SERIES ONLINE JOHN R. BOEHM
ChicagoBusiness.com/CrainsForum
CEO pay disclosures are getting weird Execs’ fortunes vary widely under the new ‘compensation actually paid’ method versus the traditional calculation. Some local CEOs wound up in the red last year — theoretically. I BY STEVEN R. STRAHLER
How did that happen? What seems like a mathematical fallacy is the result of a Securities & Exchange Commission requirement long in the making. Public companies now must report “compensation actually paid,” a
number designed to get a better handle on the value of stock, option and other awards that often account for the bulk of top executives’ compensation. But some compensation experts have their doubts about the
new metric’s worth, and one says proxy advisory firms are steering clear of the measure for now. For the best-paid CEOs at Chicago’s public companies, its impact on CEO compensation is split down the middle. Among the 25 highest-paid CEOs under the old rules, 10 showed a higher figure — sometimes much higher — under compensation actually paid. Another
10 had a lower figure. The difference was negligible for two other CEOs, and three more weren’t assigned a CAP figure because their firms’ fiscal years ended before the new rule took effect. Five companies reported negative CAP. Their accountants arrived at it by moving the window for looking at the value of stock See CEO PAY on Page 23
JOHN R. BOEHM
MICHAEL PYKOSZ’S COMPENSATION as CEO of Oak Street Health dropped by $50 million to a “negative” $48.4 million last year. Anders Gustafsson did better at Zebra Technologies, but his pay was a negative $17.5 million. Dover CEO Richard Tobin finished $13.7 million in the hole.
Michael Pykosz
VOL. 46, NO. 22 l COPYRIGHT 2023 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. l ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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ONE CITY, 50 WARDS
JOE CAHILL
A nonprofit’s founder explains how City Hall can help end hunger in Chicago. PAGE 4
The state budget deal falls short in addressing critical issues. PAGE 3
5/26/23 12:32 PM