Partner Doreen E. Lilienfeld (New York-Compensation, Governance & ERISA), Global Head of the Governance & Advisory Group, co-led a session entitled “Compensation Strategies in a New Era” on April 28, 2020. The brave new world of extreme market volatility, cash and liquidity scarcity, and looming uncertainty about the future of the economy are prompting even the most blue-chip companies to retrench and implement or consider reductions in pay, furloughs, and layoffs. The scrutiny and possible reduction of compensation for senior executives is now, more than ever, fair game for shareholders, activists, the government, and even a company's own rank and file. Boards are on notice that shareholders and other stakeholders are keenly attentive to how much and under what circumstances executives are paid during these difficult times. This session explored if and how boards should consider reductions in compensation to executives including the pros and cons of broad reductions in cash pay, trading cash for equity, the reworking of short term/bonus metrics, repricing options, and even whether boards themselves should consider a pay cut as a sign of solidarity with impacted employees.
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