Clear Channel Rolled Out Bonuses Again in 2010

Business improved in 2010 and that meant bigger compensation packages for top executives at Clear Channel Communications. After a year of greatly reduced bonuses in 2009, they were pumped back up in 2010, according to a story at rbr.com.

When things got tough in 2009 CEO Mark Mays took a cut in his base salary from $895K to $500K in 2009, as did his brother Randall, from $875K to $500K. Randall Mays was then CFO, but stepped down January 4, 2010. He remains as a director and Vice Chairman.

As noted in our story at the time, potential incentive bonuses were also slashed, but the year was so bad that the brothers ended up receiving only $236,670 each, down from $4.5 million each in 2008.

What a difference was seen in 2010. The base salary for Mark Mays automatically jumped to $1 million. As EBITDA shot back up he received an incentive bonus of more than $2.6 million. Additional compensation, including personal use of the company aircraft, was over $1.4 million. The incremental fair value of the put right which Mays exercised last August to sell 200,000 shares of stock back to the company added $5.97 million to his 2010 compensation reported to the SEC. All in all, his 2010 compensation total was pegged at $11,049,749, which was up 1,137% from the 2009 total of $893,332.

Clear Channel Radio CEO John Hogan had been the highest paid officer in 2009 and his compensation package more than tripled in 2010, from $1.1 million in 2009 to nearly $3.6 million in 2010. That included a base salary of over $825K, incentive bonus of over $1.6 million, discretionary bonus of $225K, $831K in options and other compensation of $51K.

Company founder and Chairman Emeritus Lowry Mays still has an employment contract with Clear Channel. He got an incentive bonus of $398K based on the company’s financial performance, in addition to his $250K base salary. Add in $223K of other compensation and his 2010 total was $871K.

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