Local CEO compensation rises during pandemic at public companies

Marsh, the CEO of Latham fuel cell maker Plug Power, was awarded $3.69 million in total compensation in 2019, putting him at the top of the list of the seven local public companies analyzed by the Times Union this year as companies hold their annual shareholder meetings.

Plug Power has yet to reveal Marsh’s 2020 compensation package, which should be released in the near future, but he still will likely stand atop the pile, unless of course his compensation fell last year, which seems unlikely.

That’s because Plug Power has become one of the most valuable public companies in Capital Region history over the past couple of years under Marsh’s leadership, with a market capitalization – the value of all its stock together – of $15 billion.

But local public CEOs are not in a habit of seeing their compensation reduced – especially not during a global pandemic that has brought upheaval and uncertainty to the business world. 

Only two of the seven local CEOs of public companies saw their total compensation drop in 2020. One of them was Tom Amell, the CEO of Pioneer Bancorp of Colonie, which has been going through a turbulent period with the unfolding of the MyPayrollHR scandal in which Michael Mann, a major business client of the bank, admitted to a $100 million band fraud scheme, with Pioneer losing tens of millions of dollars.

Amell’s total compensation was $795,810 in 2020, down from $866, 131 in 2019, the year that the Mann scandal was uncovered. Amell’s base salary is $651,182 under his contract. That’s a drop of $71,321 – or about 8 percent.

Amell took his biggest hit under the bank’s targeted incentive, or bonus, plan. His payment under that plan dropped from $187,731 in 2019 to $127,236 in 2020, a decrease of 32 percent.

It’s not to hard to understand why Amell’s targeted incentive plan bonus fell in 2020 since the bank’s 2019 performance was used to calculate the payment.

“The (targeted  incentive plan) is designed to provide participants with incentives and motivation to increase Pioneer Bank’s profitability and growth while maintaining its safety and soundness,” the bank said in its proxy statement sent to shareholders ahead of the bank’s May 18 annual meeting, which is being held virtually.

The document goes on to detail that the bonus – which can be as high as 40 percent of Amell’s base salary, is based on a variety of variables that focus on return on assets, deposit growth and net income. Safety and soundness and a “satisfactory job performance” is also taken into consideration.

Amell’s $127,236 incentive bonus for 2020 therefore was about half it could have been if he had reached all of his targets.

However, bank officials declined to comment further on Amell’s 2020 compensation package and if the Mann scandal impacted his incentive bonus. 

“Pioneer does not comment on matters pertaining to compensation,” Pioneer’s Vice President of Marketing Schuyler Bull told the Times Union.

The other was Patrick Enright, the CEO of Espey Mfg. in Saratoga Springs, whose total compensation dropped to $444, 318 in 2020 from $508,621 in 2019 as he saw his bonus sink $65,000 lower despite having his base pay increase about $14,000.

Although he tops the compensation list, Plug Power’s Marsh’ only gets $600,000 a year from his salary, which is lower than the two next highest-compensated CEOs of local public companies, James Clemmer and Robert J. McCormick. Most of Marsh’s compensation comes from stock options and awards that tie him a longer-term view of the company’s success.

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