Tyson Foods interim CEO made $533,459 in 2009
APNews
Dec 22, 2009
Leland Tollett, who left retirement to lead Tyson Foods Inc. out of an industry downturn, earned $533,459 as the company's interim CEO in 2009, according to an Associated Press calculation of figures filed with regulators.
Tollett, 72, announced his retirement in November, just after the company's fiscal year ended in October. He will receive $300,000 a year to consult with the company until his death, according to documents filed Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. If he dies within the first 10 years of the agreement, the payments will be made to his estate, guaranteeing $3 million.
In January, Tollett returned to the company he led from 1991 to 1998 to see Tyson's chicken business through a slump triggered by record high prices for key ingredients like corn, and weak restaurant demand. He is succeeded by Donnie Smith, who had been Tyson's senior group vice president of poultry and prepared foods.
Tollett's salary was $477,652. He received perks and other benefits totaling $55,753, including nearly $12,000 for matching contributions under an employee stock purchase plan, about $11,000 for contributions under a retirement savings plan, and about $14,000 for personal use of company aircraft and other items. He received no bonus and no grants of restricted stock and options, and made $54 on above market earnings on deferred compensation.
The Associated Press formula is designed to isolate the value the company's board placed on the executive's total compensation package during the last fiscal year. It includes salary, bonus, performance-related bonuses, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year.
The calculations don't include changes in the present value of pension benefits, and they sometimes differ from the totals companies list in the summary compensation table of proxy statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which reflect the size of the accounting charge taken for the executive's compensation in the previous fiscal year.
Tollett replaced Richard Bond, who resigned last January after having served as CEO since 2006. Bond served as CEO of Tyson for about three months in fiscal 2009. His total compensation was about $2 million, according to an AP calculation of the filings.
Bond's base salary was $932,455, although $592,498 of that was paid according to an advisory agreement after his resignation. The filings said that Tyson is retaining Bond to advise the company for 10 years, with payment of $757,620 for the first five years and half that amount in the last five years.