By Julie Wernau | Kraft
Foods Inc. Chief Executive Irene Rosenfeld, who successfully negotiated the company’s acquisition of British
confectioner Cadbury, saw her total compensation jump roughly 40 percent in
2009 to $26.34 million, according to the company’s proxy statement
filed Tuesday.
Rosenfeld’s base salary of $1.5 million in 2009 was 1.2 percent higher
than the previous year. The bulk of her pay hike came from a bigger
performance-based bonus. She received nearly $10.6 million in 2009,
more than double the $4.1 million she received in 2008, as she sold
Kraft’s North American pizza business and pursued the acquisition of
British candy maker Cadbury PLC.
Rosenfeld also received stock options and restricted stock valued at
$9.7 million, down slightly from the $10.3 million granted in 2008. And
she got $362,994 in other compensation, including personal use of the
company’s aircraft valued at $56,348, car expenses of $19,107, a tax
reimbursement of $38,239 and contributions to Rosenfeld’s retirement
fund of $249,300.
In 2008, Rosenfeld made $18.73 million. In 2007, she made $13.53 million.
While executives did not receive salary increases in 2009, on the
recommendation of Rosenfeld, chairman and chief executive officer,
total non-equity incentive plan compensation doubled for most
executives.
In 2010, the company said it is placing a greater emphasis on
performance-based compensation with a mix that is 50 percent
performance shares, 25 percent stock options and 25 percent restricted
stock.
Kraft won the support of 71.7 percent of Cadbury PLC’s shareholders this February in a $19 billion deal for the company. It sold its North American frozen pizza operations to Nestle SA for $3.7 billion to sweeten its deal for Cadbury.
That deal, which shareholders approved in February, makes the nation’s largest food maker into the world’s largest confectioner as well.
The company’s income more than tripled in the fourth quarter, its first quarterly report since it acquired Cadbury.
– The Associated Press contributed to this report
Wake up, America. Corporate greed is running rampant in this country, with CEOs raking in tens of millions, while they cut the pay of their own employees. We are again becoming a society of the haves and the have nots, with the have nots clearly outnumbering the greedy, cold and calculating “haves”. This must be stopped, capitalism notwithstanding.
$26MM? My God. Here’s ONE person who’s not sweating the health care debate.
I wonder if Kraft was one of those companies to complain about the impact the healthcare bill will have on their profits….. hhhhmmmmm
All those companies could save a lot of money by trimming some fat at the top. And we all know there A LOT more fat at the top than the bottom.
Okay, who in the world needs to make $26.34 million a year. I work for a non-profit that that helps victims of sexual abuse and struggles to keep the doors open. Our staff is so underpaid but staying with us because they know the need. This is so wrong on so many levels. If I were Irene Rosenfeld I would be ashamed to have that published for public knowledge. So she successfully negotiated a deal for Cadbury, after all, is that not her job? It is one thing to make a decent living but totally another to be so greedy. I agree with Bones, it is time to trim the fat at the top.
Good night Irene sleep tight.
I agree the compensation seems outrageous…however, keep in mind that in order for companies to attract the right talent to lead the company they have to offer compensation packages that are commensurate with the market. Otherwise, no one would want to work in those high level, demanding positions if they are receiving a low ball salary compared to other CEOs.
Way to go Irene, congratulations!
By the way, your Kraft cheese slices are getting cost prohibited, think you can do anything about that?