It’s good to be the King!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100611/ap_on_bi_ge/us_constellation_brands_executive_compensation_2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
"Constellation Brands Inc.'s CEO and president drew compensation valued at $6.77 million in fiscal 2010 as the world’s biggest winemaker adjusted to sluggish sales of alcoholic drinks in a choppy economy, according to an Associated Press analysis of a regulatory filing Friday.
Robert Sands’ pay package for the fiscal year ended Feb. 28 was up 6.5 percent from $6.36 million in fiscal 2009.
Sands, 52, got the bulk of his pay hike as a performance-based cash bonus worth $1.27 million. He also drew stock and option awards valued at $4.2 million when they were granted, up 2.2 percent from a year earlier.
His base salary rose 2 percent to $1.1 million from $1.08 million. His pay package also included other compensation of $200,684, including $126,187 for personal use of the company’s plane and $61,794 in 401(k) and retirement contributions."
Oh! So THAT’S how you adjust to sluggish sales!!! I’m giving myself a huge raise!
So Robert is rollin’ in y’all’s tax bracket now huh?
I completely understand that huge executive compensation drives people nuts in general, but especially in tough times. And, I’m far from neutral on the quality of Constellation Brands as a company due to family ties. But… Constellation is a $4Billion company that actually made about $100million in '09, after two straight years of losses much larger than that gain. They made strategic moves to sell assets, pay down debt, and then bought up about $300 million in their own stock.
Being a large public corporate CEO is all about increasing shareholder value and stock prices. All in all, Sands has done a pretty great job moving a corporate battleship to a what certainly looks like recovery in tough times. And he did it with only minor layoffs too.
How much is ‘right’ for compensation at that level is another thing, but I find it hard to criticize the guy when most of it comes in the form of the stock he’s paid to improve.
Not that I’m biased or anything. 
You’re just jealous 'cause he actually gets compensated for shoving things up people’s asses.
Seems like portions of the wine drinking crowd are in the “from each according his abilities, to each according to his needs” group of thought. Not being political or anything. One of you guys (or gals) that really get worked up over this sort of thing, please do a calculation on Sands salary/bottles of wine sold by Constellation. Let’s hear your outrage over the probably < 1 cent /bottle his salary costs you.
Let me also add that the largest part of his comp came from stock options. No sure thing. I have many friends that hit all their numbers, did every thing right, and the Great Stock Plunge of 08-09 made all of their stock options worthless. They just lose them. It’s happen to me in the past. He only gets that part of the comp package if the stock goes up. So he has to keep Constellation stock going up. That is no sure thing under current conditions! 