back to article Big and Blue: IBM boss's wage package shrinks in 2018 on her own recommendation

IBM's head honcho Ginni Rometty was paid $16.45m for running the company last year though this was dramatically lower than it could have been – the exec herself downgraded her final incentive score and the board agreed. According to a 2019 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement this week filed with America's Securities and …

  1. Antron Argaiv Silver badge
    Thumb Up

    A million here, a million there...

    (attributed to Everett Dirksen: http://www.dirksencenter.org/print_emd_billionhere.htm)

    1. macjules

      Re: A million here, a million there...

      Reminds me of the Arnie line, “What’s it like to earn $49m for a movie? The same as earning $48m.”

  2. trevorde Silver badge

    Next step...

    Ginny didn't get all of her bonus, so cue more RA's (personal chauffeur+pilot exempted)

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Non-business travel costs

    "These amounts [in the $1.1m figure] also include the aggregate incremental cost, if any, of travel by her family members or other guests on both business and non-business occasions."

    Non-business occasions? Remind me again why she can charge non-business travel costs to the company? WTF?

    One rule for her, another for everyone else.

    1. Colemanisor

      Re: Non-business travel costs

      She is the boss

    2. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: Non-business travel costs

      >Remind me again why she can charge non-business travel costs to the company? WTF?

      Suppose she was driving herself and was kidnapped by evil forces and forced to do the same magic at Oracle that she did for IBM......

      1. Yes Me Silver badge

        Re: Non-business travel costs

        That's actually correct. Executives at that level in major companies do get, and need, protection.

        Doesn't always work, though, as in the Gates pie face case

        1. Antron Argaiv Silver badge

          Re: Non-business travel costs

          Whether they deserve it or not is another question...

  4. Jay Lenovo
    Devil

    We can't ask, but.. we will.

    "...while IBM also performed well on other key non-financial factors such as diversity and workforce engagement."

    When you ask for applicants' ethnicity on recruitment pages, I guess it might help completing your diversity directive.

    https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/02/26/ibm_racist_job_applications/

  5. SVV

    be driven to and from work by IBM personnel in a car leased by IBM

    You would think that with travel expenses of nearly $900,000 for her last year, IBM might have just been better off buying a car for her, rather than leasing one. Or would that have noit felt "executive level" enough?

    1. Gordon 10

      Re: be driven to and from work by IBM personnel in a car leased by IBM

      Probably doesn't make sense given she probably has several pool limo's at each site except her home base. Plus other execs probably get to use it when she isn't.

      Given the size of the IBM car fleet they probably get better discounts on adding a few more cars to the leasing fleet than buying a few outright in addition. Plus then you have to deal with separate maintenance agreements and the like.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    $16.45m

    A pay cut compared to previous years, but it doesn't exactly leave her on the bones of her arse does it?

  7. Franzmann

    I would be happy to receive 81% of my target incentive

    My target incentive is 12% and I got 1,3% this year which is roughly 11% of my target bonus. I'm an IBMer since 33 years and it's at least 10 years that my annual bonus is that small. I would be happy to get 81% of my target bonus but it seems for the average IBMer the criteria to get your bonus are much tougher than for the CEO.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I would be happy to receive 81% of my target incentive

      How was your GDP this year? Apparently IBM's performance sucked so much that GDP was the absolute rock bottom bare minimum for mere proles, yet Big G managed to take home a few mill anyway on the basis that "IBM's 2018 performance was the best it has been since 2011, when Rometty took over from Sam Palmisano and revenues peaked at $106.9bn.".

      Let them eat cake.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Ah poor Ginny, how's she going to struggle through the year on only $16m !

  9. Korev Silver badge
    Coat

    Equality

    Any idea what the Gini coefficient is for IBM?

    1. Yes Me Silver badge

      Re: Equality

      Probably better than for, say, Facebook. Bizarre as it seems to we ordinary mortals, IBM's CEO gets a modest amount of "compensation" compared to her peers. Mind you, considering that she has hardly made a start on stopping the rot started by Palmisano, a pay cut seems only fair.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Dear Ginni

    I would love to hear how you justify a beyond-pathetic Growth-Driven Profit (GDP) 'bonus' for mere proles this year, when "IBM's 2018 performance was the best it has been since 2011, when Rometty took over from Sam Palmisano and revenues peaked at $106.9bn", AND "Gross profit margin was up to 46.4 per cent and operating earnings per share was up too".

    Clearly our performance wasn't bad enough for YOU to take a meaningful hit.

    1. Goitery

      Re: Dear Ginni

      The rub is that IBM has been saying they returned to growth, but in the report the growth was all due to currency changes. At constant currency the revenue growth was 0.0%.

      Guess which measure is used internally for the bonus calculation for normal staff, according to insiders? Yes, constant currency. Thus a poor bonus.

  11. devTrail

    One missing figure

    A number the article did not mention. From 2010, before Rometti took over to 2017 the number of employees shrank from more than 470000 to about 366000.

    I don't know the tally in 2018, but they never stopped cutting the workforce.

    1. Yes Me Silver badge

      Re: One missing figure

      Have you looked at IBM's revenue-per-employee numbers? Terrible, and always have been. The trick of course is to cut the number of employees without cutting the revenue. Not sure they've got that sorted yet.

    2. Hans 1

      Re: One missing figure

      So, basically, employee count down 22% and revenue down 24% ... the more they cut staff, the more revenue they lose, and yet, they go on, and on, and on ...

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Hmmm, look at this affidavit ...

    https://regmedia.co.uk/2019/01/18/catherine_rodgers_affidavit.pdf

  13. M.V. Lipvig Silver badge

    16MM...

    If I could land one of these jobs just for 1 year I'd never have to work again. Neither would my kids. 16MM? Split 3 ways after taxes, modestly invested, I'd be looking at over 200K per year, indefinitely.

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