AMSTERDAM: As a young executive at Procter & Gamble, Jan Bennink regularly brought home large packets of diapers, poured water over them, then cut them open to check on the absorbency of the material inside. The workaholic Dutchman later prospered as a top executive at Danone, the French food giant, before moving to a struggling Dutch baby food maker, Numico, and turning that company around. Though his career reads like a business school case study, Bennink became famous in the Netherlands not for his boardroom success, but for cashing in stock options, performance shares and bonuses worth around €80 million, or $124 million, when Danone snapped up Numico for €12.3 billion last year. The compensation created such a public furor among the egalitarian Dutch that the government is backing an unusual law that takes a first crack at curbing such windfalls. The legislation, drafted by the finance minister, Wouter Bos, was sent to Parliament on Tuesday, where it is expected to pass in time to come into force next year.
AMSTERDAM: As a young executive at Procter & Gamble, Jan Bennink regularly brought home large packets of diapers, poured water over them, then cut them open to check on the absorbency of the material inside.
The workaholic Dutchman later prospered as a top executive at Danone, the French food giant, before moving to a struggling Dutch baby food maker, Numico, and turning that company around.
Though his career reads like a business school case study, Bennink became famous in the Netherlands not for his boardroom success, but for cashing in stock options, performance shares and bonuses worth around €80 million, or $124 million, when Danone snapped up Numico for €12.3 billion last year.
The compensation created such a public furor among the egalitarian Dutch that the government is backing an unusual law that takes a first crack at curbing such windfalls. The legislation, drafted by the finance minister, Wouter Bos, was sent to Parliament on Tuesday, where it is expected to pass in time to come into force next year.
Pity the put-upon American chief executives. Let us count their burdens: Heavy expectations from impatient boards of directors. Intensified pressure from shareholders, unions and competitors. Onerous scrutiny from regulators. And zero job security. The tenure of chief executives, those richly compensated princes riding herd on America's publicly traded companies, ranks among the shortest of any professional group.
Heavy expectations from impatient boards of directors. Intensified pressure from shareholders, unions and competitors. Onerous scrutiny from regulators. And zero job security.
The tenure of chief executives, those richly compensated princes riding herd on America's publicly traded companies, ranks among the shortest of any professional group.
And lest you think they are being ironic, let me assure you that that is not the case.
- Jake If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.
Really, they do. "Few can believe that suffering, especially by others, is in vain. - Galbraith"
Not that the penalty for being bounced is too harsh. Robert Nardelli walked away from Home Depot with a $207 million severance package last year after failing to lift a sagging share price. Nardelli, a protégé of Jack Welch at General Electric who left Home Depot after a rocky six years, was quickly snapped up to run Chrysler.
Mr Sherlock! Hold the shit please.
