Chrysler Chief Could Be First Test Case Of CEO Pay Limits

The first test case of the Obama administration's tougher executive compensation standards may very well be the man who a few years ago was a symbol of corporate excess: Robert L. Nardelli.

In 2007, Nardelli was ousted as chief executive of Home Depot after a series of strategic moves failed to boost the firm's stock price. Much to the outrage of shareholders and lawmakers, the company pushed Robert Nardelli out the door with a $210 million golden parachute.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[BobinPgh]

Let's just hope that the next company Nardelli takes over is not the Hair Club for Men. If that happens, a lot more men are going to look like him!

[1dogs2]

Is Nardelli an example of the "top talent" that "critics say ... could [be] dissuade[d] from working at restricted firms"? If so, hooray!

[lunchlady]

Why is it ever possible to get $210 million for being fired? What a bizarre system. Why did Chrysler hire him? Isn't there ANYONE else out there with more vision and ability?
Chrysler has needed a big big overhaul for 30 years. They are mentally stuck int the past.

[jeun28]

wow $210 million. He does not need money for the rest of his life

[Soulsurfer]

Au contraire, please to read this link;

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/fashion/08halfmill.html

[1dogs2]

All the NYT article you linked to demonstrates is that these piggies cannot live in NYC on $500K and maintain the extremely privileged and extravagant lifestyle they have chosen. Had they chosen to live a middle class life and invested conservatively a significant portion of the millions they made over the years, they would not now be having to get accustomed to the idea of living on a salary that 98% of Americans regard as extremely generous. They wouldn't even notice the difference. Poor piggies.

[bikerdude]

All that money and he still failed. He should be paying everyone back!~

[blastocyst]

He seems personally to have won something.
What's left to bolster? Ego?

[DavidATolucaLake]

But if we dont let them steal, how will we be able to hire thieves as a CEO??

[CR46]

Well he can always quit. I'm sure there's lots of jobs out there for CEO's that have run their companies into the ground. LOL!!!!

[kankan]

Let's take a lesson from the Chinese here for once, since we outsource enough jobs to them, get what you pay for....

[SangZe]

See? The whole thing was just another joke foisted off on the taxpaying public. Obama could care less what a CEO makes. He's getting his share.

[ljc]

How do you know what PRESIDENT Obama cares less about? What a miserable outlook you have. Go back to bed and put your head under the pillow. Jerk.

[larry278]

SangZe could be using the web, intuition & brains, ljc. Pres Obama is still doing the capitalist respecting, bi-partisan spiel today. Chrysler shouldn't feel anxious about the Pres holding them by the nards if they ask for & get Uncle Sam's $; I think.

[hildutus]

Rather than limit their salary to a set amount, why not limit them to a percentage of profit? That way, extremely successful CEOs would become rich along with their corporations; and extremely unsuccessful CEOs would go broke along with their corporations.
Funny none of our politicians are proposing such a thing. It would seem that the Grand Oligarchic Party would be jump at the idea. I guess neither party actually believes in rewarding talent, in spite of their rhetoric.

[1dogs2]

Keying their salary to a % of corporate profits encourages short-term, short sighted corporate policies -- which is what led in part to the current disaster. It encouraged executives to ask "what can I do to increase my income next quarter" rather than "what can I do to increase the long-term health and viability of this company." The former encouraged cooking the books, concealing risk in the hope that they would be gone before the long-term consequences appeared, and the like.

[Hank007]

In the old days, a 'corporate raider' raided other companies. Now they raid their own first, then the treasury. Just think about how twisted the culture must be, that allows a guy to ruin a company, and then rewards him with over $200,000,000! Does no one actually care about profit anymore?!?!?

[beccasmecka]

Why worry about profit? You can just go to someone else have them give you more money.
It's not about the companies they're running.....it's about their wallets.

[Kassandra]

Of course, hit the guy whose company actually produces something except bad debt in this country. Hit him first and hit him hard. Maybe it will help take down the unions faster too....... a definite plus.

[jdfast]

Chrysler has not produced a quality car or truck for some time now. The only thing I see advertised on TV is the Ram Hemi! Just what we need, more gas guzzlers for the red necks.

[wrenchdevil]

yep..those darn rednecks, messing it up for everybody by driving a pickup truck...funny thing is, I drive a Ram pickup, and am certainly no redneck..

[Icantbelieveher]

I'm not anywhere near being a redneck -- I drive a Jeep Compass -- and I love it! Gets great gas mileage!

[DaveyDavey]

Dearie me, first I lose my private jet, and now I lose my obscene paycheck. How can I go on? (**sniff, sniff**) Well, goodbye, cruel world...

[larry278]

Make sure to flush twice.

[Jackalheadedgod]

It is said that Nardelli was uniformly hated at Home Depot by the employees. I bet Bernie Marcus, the loudmouthed obstreperous class warrior founder of The Home Depot, just loved him for that.

I hope he can get by on a half million.

Cheers,
Jack

[kellygrrrl]

did you see that email that was going around -- the crayon picture drawn by the 1st grader of "mommy at work"?
the teacher thought it was a picture of a pole dancer
the mom wrote back to say she worked at HomeDepot and was holding the last shovel and the customers were fighting for it.

I think at this point I'd rather admit to being the pole dancer

[bikerdude]

Pole dancers have a special place in my heart....

[kellygrrrl]

time to pull yourself up by the Gucci bootstraps, buddy