Negotiating Executive Compensation

In my 20 plus years of executive search experience, I have worked on hundreds of C-level assignments and navigated countless compensation negotiations through the “offer stage”. Here are 5 tips for executive candidates to keep in mind when closing the deal:

  1. Think like an owner. Value long-term awards and creating value over time as the key drivers for your compensation. Forgoing cash for more equity sends a strong message of leadership and “buy-in” to the board and/or C-suite. This indicates you are committed to the future success of the company and have confidence in the value creation you can drive. If the opportunity is available and you are in a position to do so, ask to purchase stock on your own beyond the equity grant or put your own money in the PE or VC round of financing. 

  1. If you negotiate, go one turn and then accept the counter offer. There is nothing wrong with accepting the initial offer if you believe it is strong and it meets your expectations. Yes, you may be able to negotiate marginal percentage points higher in base, bonus, equity, or sign-on, but do not underestimate the momentum of a positive, team oriented start. In my experience, one round of tweaks or negotiations is common, but if you push beyond that, it is generally poor form. 

  1. Communicate your compensation expectations to the company and/or recruiter prior to receiving the formal offer.  Many candidates think they are weakening their bargaining power by sharing expectations. They think keeping things “close to the vest” until the actual negotiations will provide the best outcome, but this can work against them. If the company is not clear on the expected compensation range, they may low-ball the candidate at offer stage (often a red flag for a dysfunctional company culture). Ultimately, the deal needs to be compelling for both the candidate and the company. Lack of communication of expectations prior to the formal offer stage can undermine the deal and be perceived as unprofessional. 

  1. Share your current and past compensation with the recruiter and company if they ask. Note, it is now illegal in a number of states to ask a candidate’s compensation. In the states where it is legal, withholding this information is regarded as a lack of understanding of how executive deals are structured. As executive recruiters, we are not asking your previous compensation history to lessen your negotiating power. We are asking these questions to ensure the best fit for both you and the company in an effort not waste either party’s time. For example, if your base salary is $400,000, you will ultimately not take a job offering a $275,000 base. There are exceptions, but in my 500+ executive searches over two decades, candidates are rarely willing to take pay-cuts in cash compensation. A candidate squeezing into a role with less than ideal compensation, usually means the role is not the right fit and the candidate leaves the company within 24 months. The exceptions tend to be candidates who forgo cash for more equity, aligning with point number 1. 

  1. Focus your identity as an executive on the value you create, not being the highest paid in your industry. Value creators are discovered and rewarded over time – keep this in mind in negotiations. You want to exceed the expectations of the CEO and board and create value and wealth for everyone in the organization. The experience of doing this is far more valuable, fulfilling, repeatable, and lasting than a certain base salary or sign-on bonus. 

Interested in more career advice? Sign-up for Lead5 and take advantage of the free career consultation plus gain more insight, intel and career tips from the Lead5 Community.

Lead5 Community Analytics – Indicators of Management Changes

After 20 plus years in executive recruiting you start to see a pattern of reasons for leadership changes. Here are a few of the most common indicators:

New PE Deal – A public company is looking to shed a non-core division and sells the “carve-out” business to a private equity firm. These deals always seem to work out very well for the new financial sponsors and this deal announcement is an almost certain trigger to build a new leadership team.

Newly Appointed CEO – A new CEO is announced and within 12 to 18 months on average more than half of the leadership team will be replaced. This concept works one-level down as well. A new CFO will have a new financial officer team within 12 to 18 months, etc.

Late-Stage VC Investment – A start-up company receives a late-stage VC investment of $50 million. At this point, the company starts to fully build out the infrastructure and regulatory framework needed to achieve its growth and strategic goals. Think of roles like Chief Accounting Officer, Chief Risk Officer, General Counsel, and Chief People Officer as roles that are often upgraded or established post a large late-stage VC funding round.

Company Emerging from Chapter 11 – The team that takes a company through chapter 11, the turn-around group, is not the same leadership team that focuses on growth post emergence.

Company Caught Flat-Footed – Julie is a star Chief Marketing Officer for BlueVision Tech Corp. She is identified and recruited away to become the CEO of a well-funded VC backed start-up. BlueVision Tech is caught flat-footed and quickly commences a search for Julie’s replacement as the internal team is not yet ready for promotion.

New Stage of Growth – Building a company from idea stage/pre-revenue to $1 to $5 million in revenue is a unique skill, as is scaling a company from $5 million to $20 million + in revenue. Here are the most common revenue hurdles where a new type of leadership is needed for the scale involved:

  • Pre-revenue to $5 million
  • $5 million to $20 million
  • $20 million to $50 million
  • $50 million to $300 million
  • $300 million to $1 billion
  • $1 billion to $10 billion
  • $10 billion +

Did you know the Lead5 Platform identifies these types of scenarios combined with the crowd-sourcing power of the Lead5 community to uncover hidden opportunities and companies you should be pro-actively networking with?

Join today and discover the power of the Lead5 Community to help advance your executive career!

Want to learn more? Join the market discussion on Lead5 here:

https://lead5.com/community/forums/posts/241182

Executive Outlook – September 2020

On September 4, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that unemployment has continually declined since the jobless peak spurred by the covid-19 lock down measures in March.  Lead5’s recent analysis of executive appointments shows a gradual improvement in the c-level job market, and we will continue to monitor and report on these trends as executive hiring is historically an early indicator of overall employment.

A discussion point in the Lead5 Executive Community is what executives should be doing now to increase their marketability.   The good news is that there are proactive measures that executives can deploy that are proven to be effective in any market.   The key is developing an action plan and sticking to it.

Executives: Be Proactive and Discover New Opportunities

See what Lead5 members are saying about the market and join the conversation:

https://lead5.com/community/forums/posts/241182

Executive Outlook – August 2020

Executive hiring is historically a significant leading indicator of the overall health of the US economy.

Lead5 analysis of the start of Q3 data (July through mid-August) shows a continued downward trend in executive appointments (see chart below).  This trend is troubling, but Lead5 forecasts that the decline from Q2 to Q3 will be slightly less severe than the decline from Q1 to Q2.

Executive opportunities tracked by Lead5 are also trending downward by 45% from Q1 to Mid-August.

Here at Lead5 we have been in constant discussions with executives through our member consults along with corporate talent partners and PE investors. The general view is June started with good momentum, but July and August from an executive hiring/decision making standpoint has stalled out. Our data supports this view. The historical “check with me after Labor Day” mantra seems to be more heightened this year with the effects of the pandemic and social unrest.

Lead5 will continue to monitor the full Q3 data through September with an eye on a possible uptick after Labor Day to finish Q3 on stronger footing.

See what Lead5 members are saying about the market and join the conversation:

https://lead5.com/community/forums/posts/241182

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Executive Job Outlook – July 2020

Executive hiring has long foretold the overall health of the U.S. economy which has been severely impacted by covid-19 and global socio-political factors.

Analysis of Lead5 data from Q1 to Q2 for 2020 shows a quarter over quarter 30% decrease in executive opportunities, a 35% decrease in PE deals, and a 43% decrease in executive appointments.  This decline was expected as executive searches which typically take 90 to 120 days were canceled or put on hold during the lockdown.  Industries with the largest decrease in executive appointments from Q1 to Q2 were consumer followed by business services and industrial. Technology, healthcare and financial services also had declines, but not to the extent of the other sectors.

For executive opportunities, July is trending above June through July 10.  Some economists predict that the economy will begin a resurgence in Q3 and if that occurs, US companies will respond by appointing new executive leadership teams.  Lead5 will continue to monitor these data trends going forward.

Leading During Crisis

Members of the Lead5 Executive Community are tasked with leading their organizations during unprecedented crisis involving every aspect of society.  In this video, Peter Thies from the River Group has joined Lead5 CEO, Josh Wimberley, to discuss key character traits that are helping successful leaders connect with and empower the employees whom they serve.

The video can be also be viewed in the Lead5 Executive Community forum section where you can ask questions about leadership, or anything else career-related.

Executive Assessments

Members of the Lead5 Executive Community have frequently asked us about executive assessments, which have become standard in the executive recruiting process. In this video, Peter Thies from the River Group has joined Lead5 CEO, Josh Wimberley, to discuss assessments, including the best way for executives to approach them. The extended video can be viewed in the Lead5 Executive Community forum section where you can ask questions about assessments, or anything else career-related.

Lead5 Analysis of Public Company Executive Salary Reductions

Lead5 Analysis of Public Company Executive Salary Reductions

As we have now entered week four of the economic lock-down caused by the global Covid-19 pandemic, the economy is approaching record levels in unemployment as U.S. companies scramble to navigate the crisis. Lead5, the Executive Career Platform, has analyzed public company filings to produce a detailed view of how executive management teams are handling executive compensation in response to the economic crisis.

The first red flag and the turbulent weeks that followed

On March 16, Lead5 observed that Ashford Inc. announced salary reductions for its leadership team.  Ashford Inc. is a small cap company based in Dallas, Texas that provides asset management services to the hospitality industry, so it is no surprise that they took swift action ahead of the brutal hit to their industry sector. Three days later, two more public companies made salary reduction announcements, Darden Restaurants and Hersha Hospitality. Darden is the large cap holding company for familiar consumer brands such as Olive Garden & Longhorn Steakhouse, and Hersha is a small cap hospitality REIT.

What followed over the next three weeks is a cascade of salary reduction announcements from over 150 public companies across all industry sectors with more being added on a daily basis. Below are summaries of the average reductions of executive salary by management teams and market cap, along with data broken out by industry sector and region.

Average Executive Salary Reduction by Company Size for Senior Management Teams

  • All Companies, All Market Caps = 30%
  • Large Cap Only = 39%
  • Mid Cap Only = 29%
  • Small Cap Only = 26%

Average CEO Salary Reduction by Company Size

  • All Companies, All Market Caps = 50%
  • Large Cap Only = 71%
  • Mid Cap Only = 45%
  • Small Cap Only = 41%

Average Executive Salary Reduction by Industry Sectors

  • Consumer 48%
  • Industrial 24%
  • Healthcare 12%
  • Technology 10%
  • Financial 6%

Average Executive Salary Reduction by Headquarters Regions

  • Southeast 23%
  • Midwest 20%
  • West 18%
  • Southwest 17%
  • Mid-Atlantic 16%
  • New England 6%   

How long will these reductions continue? 

The most common reported durations for these salary reductions are until June 30th, 2020 followed by September 30th, 2020. A number of companies stated the executive team salary reductions will remain in place until the board determines the Covid-19 crisis is over. Several companies included a reduction or elimination of board retainer fees for the duration of the crisis.  Notably, of roughly half of the large cap announcements, CEOs have forgone 100% of their respective salaries. These overall findings represent just a fraction of the total public companies in the U.S., so we anticipate continued ongoing announcements.

This Lead5 analysis is based on 153 public company filings between March 16 and April 9, 2020. Lead5 will continue to analyze and report as new filings occur.

 

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The Executive’s Career Strategy for the Current Economic Climate – March 2020

March 2020 – Special Report

The Executive’s Career Strategy for the Current Economic Climate

Josh Wimberley, founder and CEO of Lead5 here.  I wanted to provide a mid-month update given the unprecedented nature of the last two weeks. As you can see from Lead5 metrics, there is a sharp decline in executive opportunities and PE deals, accelerating the trend revealed by February’s data. I’ve been receiving phone calls from executives who I have assisted over the span of my career, and a lot of our conversations have revolved around the appropriate career strategy during the near-term economic slow-down. I decided to compile and disseminate this information in the hope that it will be valuable to you.

  • If you are in the market seeking opportunities, you can expect opportunities to be frozen or put on-hold and a continued slowdown in executive hiring. My advice is to use this period as an opportunity to undergo some introspection on your career and your marketability and perform some important research steps that will give you increased leverage in the marketplace.
  • Polish your CV. Many executives wait too long to do this so don’t be caught off-guard when the next opportunity arises.
  • Network. During economic turmoil, it can be challenging to network with members of the C-suite; however, corporate in-house recruiters are prime candidates for your outreach. Remember, you have a green light to reach out directly to corporate executive recruiters in the same manner you reach out to traditional executive recruiters (contact information for these in-house corporate recruiters can be found with their respective companies in the Lead5 Company database).
  • Research Companies. I have helped executives land positions with great firms that they never knew existed in their industries and preferred locations. Part of our mission at Lead5 is unveiling this information and I encourage you to start building your company list today. This puts you in the driver’s seat so that you are no longer waiting on a recruiter’s phone call.
  • Career Consultation. This is a complimentary and confidential session where all career questions are welcomed. To set that up, you can email me directly at josh@lead5.com

I hope this blog is useful to you as you navigate these extraordinary times and I wish you and your family safety and good health. If I can be of service, please don’t hesitate to reach out at josh@lead5.com.

Sincerely,

Josh

Josh Wimberley | Lead5 Founder and CEO | josh@lead5.com