Intel gives shareholders 'say on pay'

Weighing Otellini's package

By Cade Metz in San Francisco • Get more from this author

Posted in Financial News, 29th January 2009 18:23 GMT

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Intel has given shareholders a say on the size of its executive packages.

Yesterday, Intel shareholder Walden Asset Management told the world that the chipmaker's board of directors has approved an Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation, otherwise known as a "say on pay."

At Intel's annual meeting in May, shareholders will be asked whether they approve of the company's "compensation philosophy, policies, and procedures."

Fifteen other American companies have already adopted say on pay measures, including Blockbuster, Motorola, and Hewlett-Packard - though HP's vote won't arrive until 2011. Aflac was the first US company to approve a say on pay in 2008.

Last year, Oracle shareholder Marianists Province of the United States proposed a shareholder say on the size of Larry Ellison's package. But the proposal was shot down.

Oracle's compensation committee maintains control of Ellison's package, and in fiscal 2009, the Oracle CEO is in line for a $13.62m bonus, a 25 per cent increase from 2008. Ellison is the country's third richest human. ®

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