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Pay plummets for Motorola co-CEOs

Motorola chiefs Sanjay Jha and Greg Brown voluntarily cut their salaries by 25%

By Ann Bednarz, Network World
March 15, 2010 03:40 PM ET
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Motorola co-CEOs Sanjay Jha and Greg Brown saw their compensation packages plummet in 2009, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Jha, who heads Motorola's mobile devices and home business, was awarded a compensation package valued at $3.8 million in 2009. His total compensation is a fraction of what he was awarded in 2008, when his pay package was valued at $104.4 million due to an enormous sign-on bonus.

CEO payday: How much tech chiefs made in '08

In 2009, Jha received a $905,769 salary, which is down 25% on an annual basis from what he earned in 2008. Jha also received a $1.2 million cash bonus (guaranteed by his employment agreement) and $1,750 as part of Motorola's patent award program.

The biggest hit to his compensation came from the value of performance stock units. The estimated value of stock and option awards granted to Jha during fiscal 2009 was $1.3 million, down from $103.3 million in 2008, the year he joined Motorola.

Jha's other compensation and perquisites totaled $323,366, which includes $208,579 for personal use of company aircraft, $66,769 in relocation benefits, and $34,906 for personal use of car and driver and costs for security system monitoring.

Brown, who heads Motorola's enterprise mobility solutions and networks business, was awarded a compensation package valued at $8.5 million in 2009. His total compensation is down 65% compared to 2008, when his pay package was valued at $24.2 million.

Brown received a salary of $905,769, a decrease of 25% from $1.2 million in 2008. He received a performance-based cash bonus of $836,931. In 2008, he declined to take a bonus.

Like Jha, Brown took a big hit on the value of performance stock units awarded in 2009. The estimated value of stock and option awards granted to Brown during fiscal 2009 was $6.4 million, down from $22.6 million in 2008.

Brown also received other compensation and perquisites worth $359,708, which includes $233,846 for personal use of company aircraft, $62,519 for personal use of car and driver, $40,000 for security system installation and monitoring, and costs for home wireless coverage and financial planning.

Jha and Brown voluntarily cut their salaries in recognition of "the challenging global economic and business climate," according to Motorola. "Both Mr. Brown and Dr. Jha voluntarily agreed to reduce their base salary by 25% from $1,200,000 to $900,000 during 2009 and 2010," the 2010 proxy statement states.

As a company, Motorola's revenue fell 27% in its fiscal year ended Dec. 31. However, the company narrowed its losses significantly. Motorola reported a net loss of $51 million on revenue of $22 billion in 2009. In 2008, the company reported a net loss of $4.2 billion on revenue of $30.1 billion.

In its 2009 proxy statement, published a year ago, Motorola defended the more than $100 million in equity-based incentives it used to attract Jha to the company.

"Attracting Dr. Jha from his position at another public company [Qualcomm] required both guaranteeing certain elements of compensation and also providing inducements to take on the additional risk of leading a turnaround. We believe Dr. Jha is one of the very few industry leaders with the qualifications to lead our Mobile Devices business during its turnaround," Motorola said in its 2009 proxy statement.

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