Ford execs get massive stock bonuses worth over $100 million

Alan Mulally became the CEO of Ford in 2006, when the automaker was experiencing tough times and his first tasks was securing $23 billion to prevent the company from entering into bankruptcy proceedings. Under Mulally, the company climbed from that rocky spot to showing a profit in 2010 of $6.56 billion and for that, the CEO is being well compensated.

Alan Mulally’s stock bonus comes in the form of immediate ownership of company stock, along with stock options that can be exercised in the future. Mulally was issued 3.8 million shares of Ford stock with a price of $14.76 – coming to a total value of just over $56 million dollars. On top of that, Mulally was given the right to purchase stock options amounting to 884,433 shares at the price of $14.76, and those options can be exercised anytime between now and March 2021. Finally, CEO Mulally was given another 543,000 stock options that convert into company common stock in March of 2013. The value of the stock options won’t be realized until they are exercised or converted into common stock but Mulally stands to make a fair sum of money on those additional 1.43 million options.

Company Executive Chariman Bill Ford Jr. also got in on the stock option fun, receiving $42.2 million in common stock with additional stock options, similar to the deal given to Mulally. Ford also received options to buy 412,735 at $14.76 per share with this offer standing until March 2021, as well as receiving 253,742 stock options that will convert into common stock in 2013.

While some who question the pay of auto industry execs may raise an eyebrow at the amount of money moving around, a few things should be considered. First, Ford does not have to deal with any caps like Chrysler and GM do since they borrowed their money from a source other than the government and second, the fact that these executives are willing to take long-term considerations shows that they are committed to making the company grow over the next few years.

Ford is entering into the era of their One Ford program, where vehicles will be sold around the world rather than offering a wide diversity in product lineups from one national market to another. The first example of the One Ford program in the US is the introduction of the 2012 Ford Focus and over the next few years, Ford expects to shift their global lineup to look like one massive brand, no matter where you are in the world.

Source: Automotive News

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