Chenault's 2017 Amex Compensation: $11.8 Million
Base salary: $2 million
Portfolio grant award: $1.5 million
Annual incentive award: $8.25 million
American Express has awarded former CEO Ken Chenault $11.8 million for 2017, just over half his $22 million direct compensation target for the year. He received the total direct compensation for 2016. Despite the card network's good 2017, however, he didn't receive the full amount for the year mainly because his February 2018 departure from the company disqualified him from awards that are based on future performance, according to a filing with the SEC.
Ninety-one percent of the $22 million target compensation was based on whether Chenault met company and individual performance goals:
- 31%: restricted stock options
- 30%: annual incentive award represented
- 23%: portfolio grant award
- 7%: stock options
The remaining 9 percent is his $2 million base salary.
Because Chenault has left the company, he missed out on $8.25 million worth of stock options and restricted stock options that are awarded for future performance, according to the filing. He also received only $1.5 million of the $5.1 million target for the portfolio grant award. That target relies on financial and strategic milestones for the three years from 2018 through 2020, according to the filing.
However, Chenault received 125 percent of the annual incentive award target. The target was $6.6 million, and he received $8.2 million. That portion of total direct compensation usually is not paid entirely in cash, and for 2017, Amex's compensation and benefits committee deferred the entire payout into restricted stock options.
Chenault's target compensation has remained at $22 million since 2014, but the compensation and benefits committee lowered that figure to $16.2 million for 2018 for new chairman and CEO Steve Squeri, who took over on Feb. 1.