Paywatch
DOUGLAS BAKER JR. ECOLAB INC. CHAIRMAN AND CEO
Total compensation: $23,772,803 for the year ended Dec. 31, 2015
Salary: $1,140,343
Nonequity incentive pay: $0
Other compensation: $139,888
Exercised stock options: $17,566,225
Value realized on vesting shares: $4,926,347
New stock options: 173,036
Total 2015 shareholder return: 10.7 percent
Note: Baker's compensation in 2015 was about half of what he took home in 2014, when his total compensation was $47.3 million. Total compensation for the previous two years was largely the result of long-held stock options that he exercised.
Baker exercised 210,500 options in 2015 after exercising 603,100 options for $38.6 million in 2014.
In annual compensation categories, Baker's base salary went up 3.5 percent for the year but he didn't earn an annual bonus. Baker's annual bonus is based on Ecolab's adjusted earnings per share, which was $4.37 per share in 2015, below the minimum payout level of $4.50.
According to the proxy: "Ecolab's businesses experienced a number of headwinds in 2015, including reduced energy activity, slower international economies and unfavorable currency translation, which made our executives' performance goals challenging."
Ecloab's energy segments were a lag on overall corporate earnings. Some Ecolab executives earned annual bonuses based the results of their business segments.
PATRICK KENNEDY
