Office of State Treasurer
Denise L. Nappier
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Office of State Treasurer Denise L. Nappier |
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Top Companies Respond to Issue of Independence of Compensation Consultants
Due to concerns that perceived or actual conflicts of interest could contribute to rising levels of executive pay, a coalition of institutional investors representing $849.5 billion in assets sent a joint letter to the compensation committee chairs of the 25 largest U.S. companies (by market capitalization) in the S&P 500, calling on them to take steps to end the practice of board-hired compensation consultants also doing work for company management. The coalition said today that 18 of the nation’s 25 largest U.S. corporations have responded to a call for information outlining how their compensation committees ensure the independence of consultants who assist in setting the pay packages of top executives.
Investor letter to Compensation Committee Chairs
Response
letters from 18 of the top 25 companies regarding compensation consultant
independence
Bank of America
Cisco Systems Inc.
ConocoPhilips
Dow
Chemical
ExxonMobil
General Electric Co. (GE)
Goldman Sachs & Co.
Johnson & Johnson
Lockheed Martin Corp.
Microsoft
Morgan Stanley
Motorola Inc.
Occidental Petroleum
Pfizer Inc.
Procter and Gamble Co.
The Home Depot
Wachovia Corp.
Wal-Mart
(sent: 3/15/07)