April 2005 showcases black stars shining in religious, theatrical, and business universes traditionally lit by white (male) light.

Two years ago, I predicted that Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze was a strong candidate to be the next pope. (see article) He didn't win but his candidacy raised hopes. On Broadway, black males electrify two historically pale roles as Denzel Washington plays Brutus in 'Julius Caesar' and James Earl Jones stars in 'On Golden Pond.'

But in business, score is kept by clocking pay. So I looked at compensation surveys by Forbes, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal and found that African-American CEOs of publicly-traded firms did very well in 2004.

At most companies, total compensation is a combination of salary, bonuses, stock options gains, incentive pay and restricted share value.

So, who got paid what and why?



E. Stanley O' Neal, CEO of Merrill Lynch

In 2004 the African-American MVC, or most valuable chief, was E. Stanley O'Neal, CEO of Merrill Lynch & Co., one of the nation’s largest brokerages. In 2004, it had earnings of $4.4 billion on revenues of $22 billion, and earnings per share beat analyst expectations. In return, O’Neal, whose salary was $700,000, received a bonus of $31 million.








Kenneth I. Chenault, CEO of American Express

Last year after American Express earned net income of $3 billion, or $2.68 per share, its CEO Kenneth I. Chenault got an $8 million bonus on top of his $1 million salary. Chenault also received $500,000 in incentive pay and exercised stock options that brought his total compensation to $18.5 million.









John W. Thompson, CEO of Symantec

John W. Thompson has an enviable job and enviable pay. As CEO of Symantec Corp., he heads the world’s largest security software company. Its divisions include the Norton brand of products and Veritas, the storage software leader. In 2004, Thompson's salary was $750,000 but he earned a $3 million bonus, plus incentives and stock options that brought his pay to $14.8 million.






Richard D. Parsons, CEO of Time Warner

It is too early to tell if 2005 is a good year for Richard D. Parsons, the vintner, as the Time Warner leader owns a Tuscany vineyard. But 2004 was a fine year for Parsons the CEO as the world's biggest media and entertainment firm neatened its balance sheet, saw federal accounting probes enter the settlement stage, and the share price rose. In 2004, TW revenues were $42.1 billion and net income was $3.21 billion. Consequently, Parsons earned an $8 million bonus on top of his $1.5 million salary and with incentive pay included, he took home $15 million.






Robert Wood, CEO of Crompton Corp.

Last year was Robert Wood's rookie year as CEO of Crompton Corp., a 4,800-employee chemical company and he took every prize. The former Dow Chemical exec doubled revenue to $4 billion, transformed Crompton into the third-largest U.S. specialty chemicals firm, found a way to save about $100 million, and raised shareholder value 69 percent. Thus, his $760,000 salary, $728,000 bonus and $2.6 million incentive pay added up to about $4 million that was richly deserved.

Errol B. Davis Jr., CEO of Alliant Energy

Alliant Energy Corp. is not a sexy firm. It is a public utility holding company. The best job its CEO Erroll B. Davis Jr., can do is to make sure that the electricity and natural gas providers Alliant controls do their job for 1.4 million customers. Utilities get pummeled when something goes wrong. Davis gets $1.6 million in total compensation for ensuring that his 9,000 employees saw to it that everything went right.

Clarence Otis Jr., CEO of Darden Restaurants

Clarence Otis Jr. is happy that people gotta eat. Last December he became CEO of Darden Restaurants and will become its chairman in 2005. Darden is the parent company of 1,325 restaurants including Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze. In the last quarter, sales grew 20 percent and 2005 earnings are projected to grow 31 percent. In 2004, Darden’s former CEO and chairman's total pay was $5 million while Otis, who ran the Smokey Bones chain, earned $1 million. This year the special on Otis' menu may be a raise.




Finally, if you are tempted to buy stock in these firms just because of who runs them, don't. A black CEO should be a catalyst for finding out more about a company and how it is performing but not a good enough reason to buy. All these firms are solid and remember the CEOs already got paid.

About the Author
Frank McCoy is a freelance writer living in the Washington metro area.