Guffey, now a top Goodrich executive, also can exercise options for nearly 400,000 shares of Goodrich stock. And the sale accelerated vesting in Guffey's 46,680 shares of restricted stock. Charlotte won a fifth Fortune 500 company because Goodrich moved its headquarters here from Akron, Ohio. But there is some concern among executive pay watchdogs that big potential sale bonuses could sway decision makers away from the interests of regular shareholders. Directors grant special bonuses for selling business units, for what they consider extraordinary performance or added responsibilities and sometimes for just staying on the job.
Numbers are hard to come by because the special-bonus trend is new.
Comparisons also are difficult because the bonuses are given for a wide array of reasons. And they often go to executives who already are among the highest paid. He has been among the Top 10 every year since 1996, when he moved the company's headquarters to Charlotte from New York. The special payment to Priory comes on top of a 20 percent salary increase in 1998, and in 1997, his salary rose 41 percent. Priory's 1998 bonus was triple the bonus he received in 1997.