CEO tales of excess and greed

2002 was a year when countless professionals were given the sack and unemployment figures refused to budge below five per cent. 2002 was also a year when the myth of the larger than life CEO was debunked, with tales of their epic greed, deceit and lies dominating headlines. Enron's senior management reaped millions of dollars in compensation while the company's true financial condition was unknown to stockholders. Enron may have been this year's worst public scandal for corporate America, but its senior management was not alone in the blatant abuse of positions of power and authority. It was a year when the invincible Jack Welch, the most admired CEO of the Nineties, cracked on revelations of his post-retirement compensation package.

In India, most companies have smirked at revelations of tales of CEO untruths, adopting a holier than thou attitude. The facts: CEO pay and perks in India is a closely-guarded secret. Public listed companies, by law, are required to declare CEO salaries but published figures are just the tip of the iceberg. In most cases, the demarcation between corporate and personal expenses is rather nebulous. Its well known that benefits of corporate club memberships are enjoyed by family members, company guest houses are reserved for the exclusive use of families of senior management, family members are allowed free run of corporate facilities and the office at home phenomena is a mere pretext to siphon funds at corporate expense. These are rarely revealed.

Infosys Chairman Narayan Murthy's suggestion at a recent CII meet that CEO pay should not exceed twenty-five times that of the least-paid employee in the organisation was scoffed at by the rest of corporate India. CEOs need to be forthcoming with their pay and perks, less their silence be interpreted as guilt. Nobody's grudging them their pay. Being CEO is a 24/7 tight rope act and a rather lonely job, but shareholders and employees have a right to information, a right to know and most important a right to object to unabashed excess and blatant greed. AssureConsulting.com reprints below a list of directors, venture capitalists, major investors and executives deemed to be "insiders" by each company and how much money they reaped from selling stock in companies since 1997.

Value of Stock Since 1997

(s1)Some or all of the shares listed were sold on behalf of the investment firm the insider represents. Some transactions on behalf of trusts have been included.

Source: Thomson Financial, Securities and Exchange Commission filings



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