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Thursday, July 9, 2009
Sunoco offers $7 million to lure CFO away from Dell

Good chief financial officers are worth every penny if they can keep their enterprises humming through recessions and credit crises.

Judging by what some newly hired CFOs are earning, they’re commanding quite a few pennies.

Brian P. MacDonald, introduced on Tuesday as Sunoco Inc.’s new CFO, will get an annual salary of $650,000, according to an offer letter filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In contrast, Sunoco’s last permanent CFO, Thomas W. Hofmann, had a base salary of $570,000 for 2008.

MacDonald also will be eligible for a cash bonus of 80 percent of his salary, or $520,000. Plus, Sunoco will pay a cash award of $300,000 on the first payday after his hire date and a second award of $400,000 on the six-month anniversary of his employment.

As long as the compensation committee approves, the oil refiner and marketer intends to award him restricted share units worth $2.2 million on Aug. 31. (Those won’t vest for three years.)

In addition, MacDonald will get equity grants worth $1.7 million on Aug. 31 and other grants worth $1.6 million next March.

Add it all up, and I get $7.37 million (excluding benefits) to lure MacDonald away from Dell Inc. , where he was CFO for its commercial business unit.

That’s a lot of money, but not out of line with what other CFOs are making. According to Equilar Inc., a research firm that focuses on compensation, the median salary for a CFO that’s worked for a large public company for at least two years was $532,758 in 2008.

Other local companies have paid up to attract CFOs.

Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc., the Chadds Ford maker of pain medications, named Alan G. Levin as its CFO as of June 1. Levin, 47, will get a salary of $600,000, an annual cash performance bonus of up to 200 percent of his salary, 80,000 stock options, 43,500 restricted stock units, and a $225,000 one-time cash bonus.

Levin, a former Pfizer Inc. executive, succeeded Charles A. Rowland, who resigned Sept. 2. Rowland’s base salary for 2008 was $468,000.

B. Craig Owens joined Campbell Soup Co. as CFO on Oct. 6 at a salary of $780,000. Previous CFO Robert Schiffner, who resigned on Aug. 1, had a base salary of $525,000.
 

Posted by Mike Armstrong @ 2:05 AM  Permalink | File Under: Executive Pay | 6 comments
Comments   
Posted 07:51 AM, 07/09/2009
Big Earn
I like the bonus structure! I'm looking for similar bonus' myself. Do they have an HR department I can send my resume to?
Posted 09:54 AM, 07/09/2009
JW
The way the company is performing, he won't get a cash bonus or the shares anytime soon. The cash awards make up for the Dell stock bonus he walks away from. Add that up and it ain't $7.7 million
Posted 09:54 AM, 07/09/2009
JW
The way the company is performing, he won't get a cash bonus or the shares anytime soon. The cash awards make up for the Dell stock bonus he walks away from. Add that up and it ain't $7.7 million
Posted 10:08 AM, 07/09/2009
steakhead
Good CFO=layoffs
Posted 12:05 PM, 07/09/2009
Howard Stern
What a company...announce the layoff of 50 workers then this... How do you sleep at night?
Posted 01:32 PM, 07/09/2009
LJL
Company makes 51 million profit the first quarter of this year; toils for the past two years to cut hourly workers and slash salaries for existing workers, which is can't do without resistance; BAM a "fire" occurs and allows the elimination of 50 jobs anyway, and now wants to spend 7 mil when it's already profitable.......Welcome to the new america. Anything the government can do to take their money, the CEO's money, their bank's money, is fine by me. These greedy POS slugs are a waste of human breath.
6 comments
About Mike Armstrong
Mike Armstrong, a business editor and writer for nearly two decades, is the Inquirer's business columnist and PhillyInc blog editor.
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