Executive Compensation: Incentives Drive Salaries

Government bailouts to rescue various Wall Street firms have put the once-hidden practice of awarding outlandish executive salaries and bonuses directly in the cross hairs of lawmakers and the American public. The excesses in the financial/investment banking world that fueled widespread public outrage, however, won't be found among the earnings of principal officers at the largest publicly held printing companies.

In what is now Printing Impressions' 20th annual executive compensation report, stock awards/options and deferred compensation once again were not included in the figures shown here. Only salaries, bonuses, non-equity incentive plans and other compensation were totalled, as reported in the most recent proxy statements of publicly held U.S. and Canadian printing firms.

If stock awards and option awards were included, the rankings would have changed considerably. For instance, Joe Davis of Consolidated Graphics would move up to the top spot with $5,889,638 in total compensation. Alan Schultz of Valassis would have followed with $3,665,544, just ahead of Cenveo Chairman and CEO Robert Burton, who received $3,591,768 in total compensation.

The numbers reported are for the most recent completed and previous fiscal years, which were 2008 and 2007, in several instances. In the cases of Montreal-based Quebecor World and Transcontinental, Jacques Mallette's and François Olivier's earnings in Canadian dollars were converted to their U.S. dollar equivalents for comparison's sake. PI

1) JACQUES MALLETTE (1)
Former President and CEO
Quebecor World 
(Now Worldcolor), Montreal
(Converted to U.S.$$)
Salary + Incentives: : $2,309,522
Other Compensation: : n/a
Total: $2,309,522
Previous Year Total: $793,038
Percentage Change: 191%
(1) Jacques Mallette succeeded Wes Lucas as president and CEO of Quebecor World in December 2007, and also performed the CFO functions from January through July of 2008.

2) ROBERT G. BURTON
Chairman and CEO
Cenveo Inc., Stamford, CT
Salary + Incentives: $1,100,000
Other Compensation: $482,479
Total: $1,582,479
Previous Year Total: $2,691,525
Percentage Change: -41%

3) ALAN F. SCHULTZ
CEO, President and Director
Valassis, Livonia, MI
Salary + Incentives: $1,359,692
Other Compensation: $55,012
Total: $1,414,704
Previous Year Total: $1,429,485
Percentage Change: -1%

4) FRANÇOIS OLIVIER (2)
President and CEO
Transcontinental Inc., Montreal
(Converted to U.S.$$)
Salary + Bonus: $1,336,418
Other Compensation: —
Total: $1,336,418
Previous Year Total: $485,713
Percentage Change: 175%
(2) François Olivier was promoted to president and CEO at Transcontinental in February 2008, replacing Luc Desjardins.

5) KEITH S. WALTERS
Chairman, President and CEO
Ennis Inc., Midlothian, TX
Salary + Incentives: $932,802
Other Compensation: $232,180
Total: $1,164,982
Previous Year Total: $1,590,832
Percentage Change: -27%

6) THOMAS J. QUINLAN
President and CEO
RR Donnelley, Chicago
Salary + Incentives: $985,641
Other Compensation: $56,764
Total: $1,042,405
Previous Year Total: $2,595,318
Percentage Change: -60%

7) ROBERT KEANE
President and CEO
Vistaprint, Lexington, MA
Salary + Incentives: $875,650
Other Compensation: n/a
Total: $875,650
Previous Year Total: $1,124,805
Percentage Change: -22%

8) DAVID J. SHEA
Chairman and CEO
Bowne & Co., New York
Salary: $699,519
Other Compensation: $100,396
Total: $799,915
Previous Year Total: $1,339,198
Percentage Change: -40%

9) JOE R. DAVIS
Chairman and CEO
Consolidated Graphics, Houston
Salary + Incentives: $740,625
Other Compensation: $4,101
Total: $744,726
Previous Year Total: $1,503,882
Percentage Change: -50%

10) JOSEPH MORGAN (3)
President and CEO
Standard Register, Dayton, OH
Salary + Incentives: $496,731
Other Compensation: $129,561
Total: $626,292
Previous Year Total: $425,091
Percentage Change: 47%
(3) Joseph Morgan was named president and CEO at Standard Register in January 2009, after serving as executive vice president/COO, then acting CEO.