2012 executive pay highlights

Payday highlights

The highest-paid CEO in our survey, James Cracchiolo of Ameriprise Financial, vaulted into the No. 1 position with $46.3 million in total compensation. Both his bonus of $7.5 million and his $35 million gain from stock options were the largest in their respective categories. Shareholders of the big financial services and insurance firm got a total return on investment of 29 percent.

Stephen Hemsley at United­Health Group, ranks second with $34.7 million in total pay, down from $48 million in 2011.

Highest salary

This one is a tie with Target Corp. CEO Gregg Steinhafel and TCF Financial Chief ­Executive William Cooper: Both got salaries of $1.5 million.

Lowest salary

Michael Reger, Northern Oil & Gas Inc., zero. (Under Reger's pay plan, he takes no salary and is compensated primarily through incentive stock grants.)

Ameriprise Financial CEO Cracchiolo, $7.5 million. He's had the biggest bonus in our annual survey for the past four years.

Smallest bonus

Kathleen Iverson at CyberOptics Corp. got $26,190. All told, 78 CEOs got a bonus in 2012, down from 82 in 2011.

Biggest gain from stock options

Cracchiolo exercised $35 million in options last year to claim the No. 1 spot. Ecolab CEO Doug Baker ranked second with $23.8 million in options while Scott Wine of Polaris Industries placed third with $17 million.

Largest gain from vesting of restricted stock

Stephen Hemsley of UnitedHealth Group received $15 million from vesting shares of restricted stock. Bahram Akradi, CEO of Life Time Fitness, ranked second in this category with $14 million.

Forty-five executives got gains from the vesting of restricted stock awards, compared with 42 a year ago.

Here's another measure

Fifty-five Minnesota executives took home $1 million or more in total 2012 pay. That compares with our record year of 2006, when 66 CEOs did so.