‘Restraint’ said to be watchword for Simmons, other directors
by Ted Nesi
Providence Business News
February 8, 2010
Brown University President Ruth J. Simmons and her colleagues on Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s board voted Friday to award its chairman and chief executive, Lloyd Blankfein, a $9 million all-stock bonus for 2009.
Blankfein, 55, was given 58,381 shares of restricted Goldman Sachs stock, which he can’t sell for at least five years, but no cash, according to a regulatory filing. He also receives a $600,000 annual salary and a number of benefits, such as a car and driver.
The 10-member Goldman board’s decision was closely watched amid an outcry over sky-high executive compensation. Goldman earned a record profit of $13.4 billion last year, but that was partly thanks to extraordinary government interventions to save the financial system.
By contrast, in 2007, when Goldman earned $11.6 billion, Simmons and the other board members awarded Blankfein a bonus of $67.9 million.
In an interview with The Brown Daily Herald last week, Simmons said she did not think her service on the Goldman board would have a negative effect on Brown. The president also serves on the Texas Instruments board.
The article continues at PBN.
