Sprint Paid Former Chief $40 Million in '07
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Friday, March 28, 2008
Gary D. Forsee, former chairman and chief executive of Sprint Nextel, received compensation worth about $40 million in 2007, compared with $21.3 million in 2006, the company said yesterday in a regulatory filing.
Forsee was forced out by the board of directors in October because of the company's poor financial performance. His termination officially took effect Jan. 1.
Sprint Nextel, which recently moved from Reston to Overland Park, Kan., has struggled to hang on to customers and last month reported a $29.45 billion fourth-quarter loss.
Because Sprint's stock price has slumped since Forsee joined the company in 2003, a large portion of his stock awards and options are now worthless, putting last year's total compensation closer to $19 million, spokesman James Fisher said.
The amount reported by Sprint reflects new Securities and Exchange Commission disclosure rules on executive pay that, among other things, require companies to account for options grants awarded over several years. Because of those rules, Forsee's compensation for 2007 appears higher than what he actually received, Fisher said.
Forsee received a $1.5 million bonus in 2007, about 60 percent of the $2.55 million he would have been eligible for if Sprint's performance had been better. His total severance package, including health-care benefits, equaled $13.56 million.
Under the terms he negotiated when joining the company in 2003, his retirement benefits increased due to his termination. The value of Forsee's pension increased by $5.22 million last year, and, in January, he started to receive monthly payments of $84,325.
Daniel Hesse, who became chief executive in December, received compensation valued at $2.9 million in 2007, including a sign-on bonus of $2.65 million.
Paul Saleh, Sprint's former chief financial officer who served as interim chief executive for the two months after Forsee's departure, received $6.9 million in 2007. He left the company in January.
