CEO Pay Watch: Jeffrey Ettinger, Hormel Foods Corp.

December 19, 2014 at 5:51AM
Hormel CEO Jeffrey Ettinger
Hormel CEO Jeffrey Ettinger (Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Hormel Foods Corp.

Jeffrey Ettinger, chairman, president, CEO

Total compensation: $13,005,596 for the year ended Oct. 31

Salary: $1,000,220

Bonus: $300

Non-equity incentive pay: $3,615,950

Other compensation: $57,876

Exercised stock options: $8,331,250

New stock options: 331,900

Total fiscal 2014 shareholder return: 26.1 percent

Note: Ettinger's base salary remained the same and his annual incentive bonus was down $632,000 from last year. His take-home compensation rose 88 percent largely from the $8.3 million worth of previously issued options that he exercised during the year.

This is Ettinger's largest compensation package since he became CEO of Austin, Minn.-based Hormel eight years ago. His stock option gains come in part from the stock appreciation during his tenure. During the last fiscal year, Hormel's stock rose 26.1 percent, and during his time as CEO, Hormel's stock has a total return of 236 percent, or a total annualized return of 16.1 percent.

On the night before Thanksgiving, Hormel announced its 76th consecutive annual employee profit-sharing award, a record $17.4 million to be shared by eligible hourly and salaried employees.

Patrick Kennedy

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