Jeff Harmening, the chairman and chief executive of Golden Valley-based General Mills, saw his realized pay decrease 25% from the previous year. Harmening earned a smaller bonus than a year ago and realized less from his previously issued long-term equity awards.
Harmening did get a $100,000 increase to his annual salary rate and increases in the potential bonus and long-term equity awards he can earn in future years, meaning his future compensation could increase over the $13.5 million he earned in fiscal 2024 and the previous year’s total of $18 million.
Jeff Harmening
Chairman, CEO
General Mills Inc.
- Total compensation for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2024: $13,461,006
- Salary: $1,333,333
- Non-equity incentive pay: $1,204,800
- Other compensation: $164,164
- Exercised stock options: $596,957
- Value realized on vesting shares: $10,161,752
- New stock options: 162,973
- Median employee pay: $70,425
- CEO pay ratio: 228-1
- Total fiscal 2024 total return to shareholders: -15.4%
Note: In fiscal 2024 General Mills sold less food as value-seeking consumers adjusted their spending, driving down the company’s sales and earnings. That in turn resulted in a lower annual cash incentive bonus for Harmening and other senior executives.
Harmening’s bonus is based 80% on company performance and 20% on individual achievement. Harmening earned a bonus of $1.2 million, down from the $3.6 million he earned in each of the previous two year years.
Based on the company’s sales and adjusted operating profits, Harmening earned 44% of the potential company award, and the board granted 75% of the individual achievement award “in recognition of his strong leadership through a highly dynamic and challenging operating environment in fiscal 2024,” according to the proxy statement.
