James Snee, Hormel Foods Corp. chairman, president and CEO
Total compensation: $5,530,604 for the year ended Oct. 28
Salary: $882,750
Bonus: $250
Non-equity incentive pay: $2,955,987
Other compensation: $139,577
Exercised stock options: $1,552,040
New stock options: 365,900
Total fiscal 2018 shareholder return: 46.8 percent
Median employee pay: $43,431
CEO pay ratio: 147 to 1
Note: Snee's total compensation rose 77.6 percent over the previous year's compensation of $3.1 million. For the fiscal year, Snee earned an annual cash incentive pay of $3 million, up 40.2 percent from the previous year. Much of the increase in Snee's realized compensation was from the 52,000 previously issued stock options that he exercised last year worth $1.6 million. The year before he gained $10,795 from options.
Hormel's directors approved changes to compensation for non-employee directors. Last year they received a $70,000 cash retainer and $160,006 worth of restricted stock. Next year they'll get an $80,000 retainer and increases for committee chairs.
The board hasn't changed the director compensation plan since fiscal 2012 when it changed the equity award and fiscal 2010 when it last changed the cash retainer.
There has been a trend of eliminating payments for committee meeting attendance. The Hormel board ceased its $1,000 payment for each committee meeting, replacing it with an annual retainer of $5,000, $7,500 or $10,000 for being a member of the governance, compensation or audit committees.
Patrick Kennedy
