IBM CEO Palmisano gets paid nearly $21 million in '08

Package includes stock options and awards worth an estimated $12.22 million at the time they were granted

Sam Palmisano, chairman and CEO of IBM, was awarded a compensation package valued at roughly $20.96 million in 2008, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

His compensation includes a $1.8 million salary; $5.5 million performance-based bonus; stock options and awards worth an estimated $12.22 million at the time they were granted; and $1.44 million in perks and other compensation (including $493,881 for personal use of a company aircraft).

Overall, Palmisano's $20.96 million compensation is up just slightly from 2007, when his pay package was valued at $20.91 million.

The company saw bigger gains: IBM reported revenue of $103.6 billion in 2008, up 5% from 2007's $98.8 billion. Income for the year ended Dec. 31 came in at $12.3 billion compared with $10.4 billion in 2007, a jump of 18%.

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Sam Palmisano, chairman and CEO of IBM, was awarded a compensation package valued at roughly $20.96 million in 2008, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

His compensation includes a $1.8 million salary; $5.5 million performance-based bonus; stock options and awards worth an estimated $12.22 million at the time they were granted; and $1.44 million in perks and other compensation (including $493,881 for personal use of a company aircraft).

Overall, Palmisano's $20.96 million compensation is up just slightly from 2007, when his pay package was valued at $20.91 million.

The company saw bigger gains: IBM reported revenue of $103.6 billion in 2008, up 5% from 2007's $98.8 billion. Income for the year ended Dec. 31 came in at $12.3 billion compared with $10.4 billion in 2007, a jump of 18%.

Palmisano's total pay is calculated using data supplied in a proxy statement filed with the SEC on March 9. The following figures are taken from the summary compensation table: salary, bonus, non-equity incentive plan compensation and all other compensation (perks). Added to those figures is the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year; that figure is taken from the table that summarizes grants of plan-based awards. The calculations don't include changes in the values of retention plan and pension benefits.

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