Cumulus Media, one of the two biggest radio companies in the U.S. — each of which are seeking Chapter 11 reorganization — has supplied the SEC with full details on its executive compensation for 2017.
With that, the take-home pay for President/CEO Mary Berner, EVP/Treasurer and CFO John Abbot, and SVP/General Counsel Richard Denning has been revealed. Each saw big bumps thanks to bonus payments awarded, based on the company’s performance.
For Ms. Berner, her base salary stayed put in 2017, from 2016. This was $1.45 million.
But, her 2017 bonus was enormous compared to the one she obtained in 2016: it was exactly $3,800,101. Along with “other compensation” totaling $4,943, Berner earned a total $5,250,101 in 2017 — up from $2,537,500 in 2016.
Berner’s current employment agreement was codified on Oct. 26, 2017 and runs through Sept. 29, 2018. Her base salary is “subject to increase.”
At the same time, Abbott saw his base salary jump from $375,000 to $750,000, while his 2017 bonus came in at $1,495,661. Add in $2,250 in “other compensation,” and he took home $2,250,604 in 2017. That’s up from $987,653 in 2016.
Abbott’s employment agreement was also finalized in late October 2017, and runs through Oct. 13, 2018.
For Denning, a slight adjustment in his base salary was seen, rising to $550,000 from $520,833. The big payday came by way of a bonus, too. His 2017 bonus was $896,765. With Cumulus-paid life and disability insurance premiums and company contributions to his 401(k) plan account totaling $10,124, Denning’s total earnings in 2017 are $1,446,765.
That’s up from $692,841 in 2016.
Denning has an employment agreement with Cumulus through Nov. 29, 2018, also agreed to in late October 2017.
The bonus payments are tied to Cumulus’ QIP” and “SIP” incentive programs — approved by Shelley Chapman, Judge for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
Cumulus’ Quarterly Incentive Plan is the QIP. This was first revealed on May 18, 2017 in an SEC filing. This move saw Cumulus’ Board of Director shift from an annual to a quarterly compensation plan for 2017. Additionally, the board adopted a supplemental incentive plan for 2017, the so-called SIP. This was done after being instructed to do so by the board’s Compensation Committee and the committee’s independent compensation consultant.
Cumulus’ SIP was adopted to, among other things, “further align key senior operating executives’ interests with those of stakeholders in light of the decline in value of outstanding equity awards.”
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