Use your relocation benefits

Running a public company is a tough job these days. Competition is brutal and the economy is uncertain.

Top executives, though, increasingly seem to be cushioned from economic risks and realities when it comes to their personal finances.


Compensation packages -- in additional to salary, bonuses and stock awards -- routinely included extra perks for travel (to protect from high gas prices) and financial planning (to minimize taxes and maximize investments).

It's like having a financial nanny.

Some companies are even insulating their top executives from the downturn in the nation's real estate market.

Escalade, an Evansville-based maker of sporting goods and office equipment, last week announced that Chief Executive Officer Robert Keller is receiving an extra $70,000 in relocation benefits to help compensate him for "lost home equity" from the sale of his Atlanta home.

Keller, who joined the company as CEO last year, had already received $25,768 in relocation assistance, according to Escalade's proxy statement. His annual salary is $300,000.

Escalade said Keller was unable to sell his home for the price first envisioned. The problem was "adverse real estate market conditions beyond his control."

So, Escalade's compensation committee -- which OK'd the extra $70,000 -- came to the rescue.

Both Escalade and Richard White, chairman of the compensation committee, declined to comment.

At Indianapolis-based radio broadcaster Emmis Communications, Chief Financial Officer Patrick Walsh received $8,000 in relocation expenses that were above the amount agreed to in his contract, according to the company's proxy statement.

The extra money was to cover Walsh's rent and travel expenses caused by a delay in him selling his home in Maryland.

"No one anticipated how long it would take to sell the house," Emmis spokeswoman Kate Snedeker said. "He really tried hard to minimize that additional cost."

Snedeker added that Walsh rented a modest apartment and used a discount airline during his commute from Maryland to Indianapolis.

In fiscal 2007 and 2008, though, Walsh received $106,042 in perks mainly for relocation, auto and travel expenses, according to Emmis' proxy. His salary was $400,000 for 2008.

Plenty of other top executives receive help in moving.

In 2007, 25.3 percent of Fortune 100 companies disclosed relocation benefits for CEOs, with a median value of $27,000 for the perk, according to executive compensation research firm Equilar. Also, 7.4 percent of Fortune 100 companies disclosed housing or apartment allowances for CEOs, with that perk carrying a median value of $67,671.

It just seems a bit odd for companies to shield top execs from the unpredictability of the housing market when their very job is to navigate the unpredictability of the financial markets.