Don’t Let Misalignment in Executive Compensation Create Your Own “Black Sox Scandal”

 Last Wednesday, on March 31, 2021, the day before Major League Baseball’s Opening Day for the 2021 baseball season, CEOWorld magazine published an article I wrote on “Don’t Let Misalignment in Executive Compensation Create Your Own “Black Sox Scandal”.

This new article is designed for CEOs, C-level and senior executives, who may face misalignment in the structuring of their executive compensation, incentive and performance-based compensation.

The article first discusses misalignment as commonly mentioned that can harm the interests of investors, owners and shareholders, where executive compensation incentives revenues and earnings per share that can encourage acquisitions that can benefit CEOs but not add long term value and might actually harm the interests of the investors.

My article then moves to discuss the less often recognized issue of misalignment that can harm CEOs, C-level and senior executives. Major misalignment of executive compensation is discussed in the three circumstances, as follows:

• Added performance targets are set even after liquidity occurs as approved by the investors,
• A major portion of equity is tied to remaining in the position until liquidity occurs, and
• Tying an entire bonus to the achievement of a single fixed objective, where the owners have significant discretion to limit or even eliminate the executive’s ability to achieve that sole objective.

I timed publication of this article to coincide with Major League Baseball’s Opening Day, because the 3rd and last example of misalignment harmful to executives, and certainly one of the most flagrant, was the root cause of the biggest scandal in American sports history, when Chicago White Sox players accepted bribes from gamblers to intentionally lose the 1919 World Series. This “Black Sox Scandal” offers a vivid demonstration how such executive compensation misalignment can harm both executives and players in this case and also the company, owner and other stakeholders (in this case the fans) as well.

My article then ends with recommendations for executives to adopt in their executive compensation negotiations to avoid harm from such destructive misalignment,
To see my full CEOWorld magazine. article, go to LINK: https://ceoworld.biz/2021/03/31/dont-let-misalignment-in-executive-compensation-create-your-own-black-sox-scandal/

Or on my website at https://www.executiveemploymentattorney.com/dont-let-misalignment-in-executive-compensation-create-your-own-black-sox-scandal/

This was my 32nd article published in CEOWORLD over the last five years. Previously, the editor advised that I can use “Featured in the CEOWOLRD magazine” and the CEOWORLD “Logo” on my website and add CEOWORLD magazine in my LinkedIn profile’s “Experience Section” as an “Opinion Columnist.” and authority in the field.
See: https://ceoworld.biz/author/robert-adelson/

With more than 12.4+ million-page views, CEOWORLD magazine is the world’s leading business magazine written strictly for CEOs, CFOs, CIOs, senior management executives, business leaders, and high net worth individuals worldwide.
CEOWORLD magazine | LinkedIn

It is my hope that this article will be of benefit to CEOs, C-level and senior executives who are engaged or will soon engage in negotiations over the terms of their executive compensation, incentive compensation and performance compensation. It is my hope that this article may be helpful to you to avoid executive compensation misalignment potentially harmful to the executive. Feel free to share this article. If you or any colleague of yours has a need in this area, please do reach out to me at rob@attorneyadelson.com.