Not long ago, I had the opportunity to relax at a poolside bar in sunny Los Angeles, pondering the problems of being paid large sums of money. As one might imagine, this was one of my more enjoyable days on the job.
The occasion was a two-day conference at the University of Southern California to talk about all things corporate governance. The agendas at these gatherings typically address tactics for—and changes to—Sarbanes-Oxley, or ways that companies can instill an ethical corporate culture. All those topics came up at USC, certainly, but it also became apparent that another governance issue was rapidly rising to the top of the priority list for corporate executives and boards of directors: executive compensation.
