For all the hand-wringing over CEO pay, we rarely hear much bellyaching from shareholder activists and others about director pay. Based on the silence, I can only conclude that most people think that, in general, board directors deserve what they get paid.
What do they get paid? A survey just out from Hay Group finds that median director pay at the largest 300 public companies increased from $213,774 in 2010 to $227,250 in 2011, including cash salary, options and restricted stock, and all the Starbucks coffee they can gulp down during meetings. That’s not even enough to hit President Obama’s definition of “those who earn a little more.” And it really seems like a bargain when you consider that the Red Sox are paying “ace” pitcher Josh Beckett (5 wins, 10 losses) $16 million a year. (Sorry, I had to get that off my chest.)
