HP's Meg Whitman gets big salary boost
Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman got a raise.(Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images)
Story Highlights
- $1 annual salary bumped to $1.5 million
- Whitman's total compensation is valued at $17.6 million
- Other CEOs have taken nominal salaries
Meg Whitman may have been earning just a $1 salary at Hewlett-Packard, but she'll be getting a fat raise this year.
Hewlett-Packard has been paying its CEO just $1 a year since she joined the troubled tech company in 2011. Now, thanks to the company's turnaround, HP directors say she deserves $1.5 million, the company said in its annual proxy, filed Monday.
Overall, Whitman received compensation valued at $17.6 million last year, up 15% from $15.3 million in 2012.
Whitman's 2013 compensation included $260,000 in incentive pay, stock valued at $4.3 million, stock options valued at $12.7 million and $275,300 in perks, including personal use of corporate aircraft valued at more than $250,000.
The former eBay CEO also gained $802,000 on previously awarded shares that became vested, Hewlett-Packard said.
Whitman, 57, was hired in September 2011 to head a five-year turnaround plan. In bumping up her salary, HP's board cited her for "significantly advancing" the company's turnaround as the overall market for personal computers continues to slump.
Much of the fix has involved cost-cutting. By the end of the current fiscal year, HP will have reduced its workforce by about 34,000 from nearly 350,000 in 2012.
Several CEOs have received $1 a year in the past, including the late Steve Jobs, who earned the nominal amount when he returned to Apple in 1997, but the billionaire had hefty equity stakes or received other forms of compensation.
Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison also earns just $1 in annual salary, but he received stock options and incentive pay valued at $78.4 million in 2013, plus perks valued at $1.5 million. He also cashed in previously awarded options valued at $151.4 million.
Industry tracker Gartner Group says HP had about 16% of the global PC market in 2013, down 9.3% from 2012.
Still, Hewlett-Packard reported $5.1 billion in earnings last year, vs. a $12.6 billion loss in 2012. Total shareholder return increased 81%.