back to article How many HPE staff does it take to pay for one CEO? 271

Hewlett-Packard Enterprise CEO Antonio Neri was compensated to the tune of $17.36 million to run the company during its fiscal 2022, equating to the average annual pay of 271 employees. According to its Annual Report for the year ended 31 October, Neri got a base salary of $1.275 million, up $50,000 year-on-year, option awards …

  1. trevorde Silver badge

    Meanwhile at IBM, Oracle and Apple...

    [C-suite] *Only* 271? LOSER!!

  2. lglethal Silver badge
    Facepalm

    The numbers truly are disgusting aren't they? Does anyone really believe ANY CEO brings the same value to their firm as 271 mid-level engineers?

    Oh well HPE now knows where it can cut some fat, next time they have a downturn, no? Hmmm... Do I hear crickets chirping?

    1. Ken Hagan Gold badge

      "Does anyone really believe ANY CEO brings the same value to their firm as 271 mid-level engineers?"

      Evidently the shareholders either do think that or don't think.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Considering that many (perhaps most?) of the shareholders are so-called institutional investors, members of the company Board, and even the executives themselves, this is unsurprising. They all benefit from the rigged game.

        As an individual shareholder (though not of HPE) I always vote my small batch of shares at every opportunity; I vote against any executive pay rise by default, because I simply believe they're over-compensated, regardless of the job they may be doing. I don't expect it will ever make a real difference, but I do it anyway in hope of maybe someday the camel getting weary of all the straw.

        1. CaNerdIan

          I think institutional ownership of the company is something like 85% of shares outstanding.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Can tell you from firsthand experience that we "mid-level engineers" (at least in North America) are getting paid substantially more than the average pay listed. That average salary is based on all global employees (about 60,000, a number that is fairly stable, unlike a few other companies in the industry that have made the news recently for mass layoffs).

        Antonio started with the company working TAC, and worked his way up. Total comp of $17M is not even particularly outlandish for a CEO of a company this size.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      271 is indeed bad, but there are worse

      As ridiculous as 271:1 ratio is, I've seen worse. In fact, a little websearching about CEO pay ratios suggests it was approaching 400:1 in 2021 in US.

      And even as bad as that is, I'm less troubled by CEO compensation while they are employed, than I am by what they're often paid to go away after The Board and shareholders finally realize (admit) the CEO has botched the job.

      I (and probably a few dozen of my associates) could comfortably retire for the rest of our natural lives on what some of these executives are given in "golden parachutes". I daresay if any of the rank and file screwed up our jobs the way certain CEO's have, there's a fair chance we'd be fired outright, at least swept up in the next round of layoffs. We certainly wouldn't be handed multiple millions in payout, accelerated stock option vesting, loan forgiveness, extended medical coverage grace period, etc. And probably with a cushy well-compensated seat on some other Board of Directors down the road as a consolation prize.

      Nice work if you can get it, eh.

    3. Charlie Clark Silver badge

      If they're only paying $ 64,000 for mid-level engineers you could argue that they're very successful!

      Shareholders have a say on pay for board members. But since these were effectively captured by investment companies a couple of decades ago, short term interests, skewed by favourable tax treatment, prevail.

  3. Neil Barnes Silver badge

    With an ear to this morning's 'More or Less'

    Is that the mean salary (which is of course inflated by salaries such as his) or the median?

    1. Korev Silver badge
      Joke

      Re: With an ear to this morning's 'More or Less'

      I wouldn't describe $17m as mean, rather very generous

    2. Charlie Clark Silver badge

      Re: With an ear to this morning's 'More or Less'

      Arithmetic mean.

  4. Pete 2 Silver badge

    Spin to win

    > the ratio of the annual total compensation of our CEO to the media annual total compensation of all employees was 271 to 1," HPE says in the 10k filing. This was based on roughly 61,987 individuals employed by the organization on August 21, 2022.

    You can just see how this plays out.

    We have only one CEO for 61,987 staff. But they are only paid 271 times what those staff get. Bargain!

    Although in the 1990s when I worked for a multinational "services" outfit I found out what they charged for my time. I calculated that the income I brought in paid for 6 deadweight administrators who never contributed anything to the bottom line.

    I left and went contract. Staying with the last place I had been posted to, for a run of 3-month contracts that lasted 10 years. Sadly, not at the 3-figures per hour my ex-employer charged.

  5. luis river

    Neri "self man made"

    Top head HPE staff Mr. Antonio Neri, he is total deservedly their great salary, Antonio a self man made and good director become from low position in HP to lead giant HPE after 25 succesfful years !!!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Neri "self man made"

      The stock price hasn't budged since he took over.

      So no, he is not a good director, and the market agrees with me on that.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The usual refrains:

    "BuT wE dOnT sEt OuR oWn PaY"

    "He brings value to the business and deserves a share of its success"

    "Supply and demand"

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "Supply and demand"

      Of course, those are the same guys who complain that "Nobody wants to work!" Yet refuse to raise wages. Somehow free market economics no longer apply when it would benefit someone "lower".

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Antonio's base salary increase is a similar percentage to what everyone else at the company got.

  7. chivo243 Silver badge

    A new Reg.com Measurement!

    Put this one right next to the Fatburg! One CEO = 271 Plebs!

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    271 are rookie numbers

    Depending on how you calculate average employee salary, Mike Salvino boss of DXC earns either 650 or 918 times more than the average employee.

    1. Androgynous Cow Herd

      Re: 271 are rookie numbers

      "Mike Salvino boss of DXC earns either 650 or 918 times more than the average employee."

      No, he RECEIVES that much. He earns a fraction of that amount.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: 271 are rookie numbers

        Runtime error (func=(main), adr=5): Divide by zero

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: 271 are rookie numbers

        Trust me as a DXC employee I know. To add insult to injury, he has been completely AWOL for a year now, no town halls, no seasonal emails, nothing, to DXC employees he doesn't exist.

  9. Anywho

    This guy should be unemployed!

    This guy should be unemployed after the way they handled supply chain during COVID. As a multi-billion dollar company HPE should control every aspect of their supply chain. Making excuses, and blaming others, doesn't cut it. Their customers and shareholders deserve better.

  10. JassMan

    And right wing-governments around the world

    want to lower the taxes of the super-rich saying that they need to keep even more of the money they have "earned". It should be no surprise that the number of people below the poverty line is increasing in countries with right-leaning governments around the world. Everyone everywhere is paying for the grossly overinflated renumeration schemes of top parasites in the mega-corporations and financial institutions.

    Truss-o-nomics at its finest.

    1. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
      Joke

      Re: And right wing-governments around the world

      Perhaps "Trouser-o-nomics" is more apt?

  11. MrGreen

    Juggling the Numbers

    It’s easy to pay someone at the top in millions if you’re not paying commission to those at the bottom.

  12. Mayday
    Pirate

    Curious

    As to what jobs at a place such as HPE pay $60k, and what ones are so hideously below that to offset the boss’ pay bring the average down that far.

    Guessing BDMs/AMs, solutions architects and the like would hover around $200k as “senior professionals”. Service desk types based in emerging markets would probably be doing their best to reduce the average pay across the board. Any idea on what one would get?

    Icon for effect.

  13. ChoHag Silver badge
    Pirate

    Steal all the things

    If any member of staff's compensation package has "illion" in it, and everyone's doesn't, you're working for a cunt.

    The icon has more grey area in it.

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