Executive Pay Players

The Wall Street Journal ran an article on the front page of today’s paper entitled How Five New Players Aid Movement to Limit CEO Pay.  The article profiles five individuals, each representing a different type of player in what the Journal calls “an unusual movement that has turned executive-pay activism into a potent mainstream force.”

The five players include Lucian Bebchuk (who the article describes as “The Professor”); Jesse Brill (“The Networker”), who brought about the use of “tally sheets” in calculating the amount of compensation a company will owe if an executive leaves the firm; pension fund activist and assistant treasurer for the State of Connecticut Meredith Miller (“The Bureaucrat”); John Hill (“The Mutual-Fund Trustee”), who is credited with the assertive stance that Putnam Investments has been taking towards executive pay; and union fund official Edward Durkin (“The Union Leader”).

The article provides interesting background on the role each of these players has in the shareholder activism that has been particularly prominent this proxy season.  It will be interesting to see what role these activists have in the key votes approaching on several shareholder proposals.