http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/potashcorp-ceo-bill-doyle-to-make-millions-after-retiring-1.2602969
Bill Doyle steadily converted stock options into shares
Rocanville PotashCorp underground production supervisor Dave Esslinger walks toward his work vehicle 1,000 metres below the surface at the potash mine in Saskatchewan. (David Stobbe/Reuters)
Bill Doyle may not need to walk away from PotashCorp when he retires as its president and CEO in July.
It’s more likely he’ll fly in a private jet.
Doyle took over at the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan 15 years ago. Company filings dating back to February 16, 1999 show he owned 148,782 shares. At the time, they were worth $8,576,548 USD.
During his tenure, Doyle led the Saskatoon-based company through massive expansions at its mines. He also fended off a 2010 hostile takeover by mining rival BHP Billiton.
Compensation for Bill Doyle (in U.S. dollars)
2014 base salary: $1,256,000
2014 Short-term bonus: $800,000
Estimated current value of unexercised medium and long term stock options: $110,000,000 – $120,000,000
Estimated shares, units, or other rights that have not vested: $3,800,000
Total at-risk value of common shares / DSUs: $98,516,429
Supplemental Retirement Plan: $1,945,735
Aggregate value of payments made upon retirement (after May 2015): $24,761,371
However, the last few years have seen prices per tonne drop, due to soft demand and high volumes worldwide. In December, PotashCorp cut roughly 18 per cent of its workforce. Of that, 440 employees worked at Saskatchewan mines.
For years, the majority of Doyle’s salary has been paid in medium and long-term stock incentives. Doyle has steadily converted the majority of that into PotashCorp stock.
Bill Doyle, speaking at a business luncheon in Saskatoon in April 2010. (CBC)
By February 2014, company filings to shareholders indicate show Doyle and his family held 8,307,871 PotashCorp shares “deemed to be beneficially owned”. Some observers note that if the Doyles chose to cash every share in simultaneously, based on yesterday’s closing TSX price of $37.11/share, that would total just over $308 million US dollars.
However, stock options account for about three quarters of Doyle’s PotashCorp holdings. By exercising his options and cashing in current holdings, Doyle would stand to make a total of roughly $192 million US dollars.
PotashCorp has indicated Doyle will stay on as a special advisor until he turns 65 next year.
(Andre Mougeot/CBC)