April 5, 2021
Activist Zeroes In On Comp Committees
– Liz Dunshee
Activist CtW Investment Group is taking a close look at comp committees this spring. Three recent letters on their engagement page show which issues are drawing scrutiny:
1. Artisan Partners – calling for an overhaul of the comp committee because executives’ cash bonuses weren’t dependent on achievement of pre-set performance goals, and because the company has received low(ish) say-on-pay and comp committee votes in recent years (65% approval for say-on-pay in 2019, below 80% approval of comp committee members last year, repeated adverse say-on-pay recommendations from ISS)
2. General Electric – calling for an overhaul of the comp committee because of a decision to grant a replacement award to the CEO with lower performance vesting targets
3. Uber – calling for amendments to the comp committee charter and disclosure focused on human capital issues – in particular, diversity, pay equity and safety precautions for the company’s workforce – and specifically, the driver community