CEO Paywatch: Hormel's James Snee

Chairman, president, CEO

Total compensation: $13,304,936 for the year ended October 25, 2020

Salary: $966,360

Bonus: $300

Non-equity incentive pay: $5,410,600

Other compensation: $213,116

Exercised stock options: $6,714,560

Median employee pay: $44,263

CEO Pay ratio: 232 to 1

Total fiscal 2020 shareholder return: 21.4%

Snee's total realized compensation more than doubled thanks to $6.7 million worth of previously issued stock options that he exercised during Hormel's fiscal year that ended Oct. 25 and $5.4 million from performance against financial targets.

The $5.4 million in cash incentive pay was comprised of rewards based on performance against annual targets and total shareholder return over the previous three years. Over the last three years, Hormel's total shareholder return from 2017 to 2020 was in the 90th percentile of its 21-company peer group. That resulted in a payout that was 205% of the target award.

Hormel is changing the executive compensation plan for 2021 and adding ESG targets to its annual incentive targets. They join a number of companies that have included diversity, equity and inclusion targets tied to executive compensation.

Companies such as Wells Fargo and Starbucks have recently added new ESG targets to their pay formulas. Pearl Meyer, a compensation consulting firm, estimates that 15% of 127 public companies it studies annually have added diversity and inclusion measures to their executive pay programs.

Hormel's new measure will make up 10% of the annual incentive plan targets for its named executives. Those targets include goals for increased diversity and inclusion. Specific targets were not disclosed.