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This excerpt taken from the WY DEF 14A filed Mar 10, 2006. Pay-for-Superior-Performance Proposal Resolved: That the shareholders of Weyerhaeuser Company (Company) request that the Board of Directors Executive Compensation Committee establish a pay-for-superior-performance standard in the Companys executive compensation plan for senior executives (Plan), by incorporating the following principles into the Plan:
Supporting Statement: We feel it is imperative that executive compensation plans for senior executives be designed and implemented to promote long-term corporate value. A critical design feature of a well-conceived executive compensation plan is a close correlation between the level of pay and the level of corporate performance. We believe the failure to tie executive compensation to superior corporate performance has fueled the escalation of executive compensation and detracted from the goal of enhancing long-term corporate value. The median increase in CEO total compensation between 2003 and 2004 was 30.15% for S&P 500
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The pay-for-performance concept has received considerable attention, yet most executive compensation plans are designed to award significant amounts of compensation for average or below average peer group performance. Two common and related executive compensation practices have combined to produce pay-for-average-performance and escalating executive compensation.
First, senior executive total compensation levels are targeted at peer group median levels. Second, the performance criteria and benchmarks in the incentive compensation portions of the plans, which typically deliver the vast majority of total compensation, are calibrated to deliver a significant portion of the targeted amount. The formula combines generous total compensation targets with less than demanding performance criteria and benchmarks.
We believe the Companys Plan fails to promote the pay-for-superior-performance principle. Our Proposal offers a straightforward solution: The Compensation Committee should establish and disclose meaningful performance criteria on which to base annual and long-term incentive senior executive compensation and then set and disclose performance benchmarks to provide for awards or payouts only when the Company exceeds peer group performance. We believe a plan to reward only superior corporate performance will help moderate executive compensation and focus senior executives on building sustainable long-term corporate value.
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