Barry Mayo has signed a new contract to keep him as President of the Radio Division at Radio One. His base pay is scheduled to go up, but there’s an exception to that if the economy stays lousy.
Mayo has been President of the Radio Division since 2007. According to the company’s most recent proxy, he received a base salary of $500,000 in 2008, but no bonus (at least not yet), owing to the recessionary pressures.
Under his new contract running through June 6, 2012, Mayo is to see his base salary rise to $550,000 on January 1, 2010, and increase by 3% each year thereafter. However, between now and the end of 2009 Radio One has the right to adjust his current base salary of $500,000 down by as much as 7% “as a result of economic conditions, provided that other employees will have their compensation adjusted in a similar manner.”
Mayo is to receive a belated bonus for 2008, but only $5,000, to be paid by January 5, 2010. Going forward, he will be eligible to receive an annual bonus of up to $100,000 for achieving “certain objective metrics” and a discretionary annual bonus of up to $100,000 if “his performance and the Radio Division’s operating results satisfy certain reasonable criteria as determined by the CEO and Board of Directors.”
Mayo is also in line to receive 130,000 restricted shares of Radio One stock to vest over the course of his new contract.
RBR/TVBR observation: Who could have imagined having to include such a provision in an executive contract even as recently as two years ago? But pay cuts for executives have become commonplace in this recession, requiring contract waivers in many cases. No doubt, other companies with key execs coming up for renewal will insert similar language into their contracts.
