CEO Pay Watch: Best Buy's Corie Barry made $7.5 million last fiscal year

Executive Chairman Hubert Joly realized $64.9 million in compensation during last fiscal year. Barry, Joly and other executives will take a pay cut for part of this fiscal year because of COVID-19.

April 27, 2020 at 8:24PM
Corie Barry, right, CEO of Best Buy, with Executive Chairman Hubert Joly.(LEILA NAVIDI/Star Tribune)
Corie Barry, right, CEO of Best Buy, with Executive Chairman Hubert Joly. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Corie Barry
CEO, Best Buy Co. Inc.

Total compensation: $7,513,762 for the year ended Jan. 31, 2020

Salary: $1,013,462

Non-equity incentive pay: $1,913,334

Other compensation: $37,867

Exercised stock options: $43,074

Value realized on vesting shares: $4,506,025

New stock options: 94,172

CEO Pay ratio: 438 to 1

Median employee pay: $27,005

Total fiscal 2020 shareholder return: 47%

Note: Barry's realized compensation increased 17.8% from the previous year, when she was chief financial officer. The increase included salary adjustments since taking over CEO duties in June, and restricted stock that vested during the year.

Barry's compensation used to calculate the CEO pay ratio was $11.8 million.

Executive Chairman Hubert Joly, who plans to retire in June, realized $64.9 million during the year, mainly from previously issued long-term equity including stock options he exercised and restricted stock that vested during the year. It was Joly's largest payout since he was named CEO in 2012.

Due to a 30% drop in sales because of the coronavirus pandemic, the company has reduced store operations to curbside delivery of e-commerce orders and furloughed 51,100 store employees.

The same day Best Buy released its annual proxy statement, the company's board of directors also announced that it was cutting Barry's base salary rate from $1,160,000 to $580,000 starting April 12 through Sept. 1 and that other senior leaders are taking 20% salary cuts during that time.

Joly also agreed to reduce his base salary rate of $650,000 by half during the remainder of his term. The board of directors are also reducing their cash retainer fees by half. Best Buy directors get $95,000 per year plus $15,000 to $25,000 for chairing certain board committees.

about the writer

about the writer

Patrick Kennedy

Reporter

Business reporter Patrick Kennedy covers executive compensation and public companies. He has reported on the Minnesota business community for more than 25 years.

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