Others structure their ownership plans in ways that leave the executives with little to lose, no matter how the company performs. Elaborate PR Consultants say some ownership programs are just elaborate public-relations exercises. Campbell Soup Co.'s plan, adopted in 1993, set ownership targets ranging from 1.5 times to three times base salary. Campbell also disputes Mr. Johnson's contentions that Campbell's requirements were below industry averages when they were installed. Others note that RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp., in the same industry group, adopted guidelines in 1993 for its top 163 executives and set the ownership ratio for its chief executive at seven times base salary.
Some companies grant piles of stock options with extremely low exercise prices.
The issuance of new stock to satisfy those options can dilute shareholder value. Others give executives huge loans to buy stock, and then forgive the loans. Eastman Kodak Co. Chief Executive George Fisher joined the Rochester, N.Y., company in 1993, right after it adopted guidelines requiring him to own Kodak stock with a market value four times his annual base salary by the end of 1998. But Mr. Fisher didn't spend a penny of his own to buy most of those shares. Kodak waived interest payments, then forgave the principal over a period of five years.