Shell Investors Revolt Over Executive Pay Plan

Editor's Note: We are seeing a revolt against pay packages - but it is occurring in Europe, not in the U.S. Will this same anger show up among U.S. investors?

The Wall Street Journal - Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Europe's largest oil company, suffered a stunning rebuke Tuesday when investors shot down its executive-compensation plan, in the latest display of shareholder anger over big paychecks and boardroom excesses amid the economic crisis.

Shell is the largest among a growing group of British companies whose shareholders have voted down compensation plans in advisory votes, including Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Bellway PLC and Provident Financial PLC.

Large numbers of shareholders, though not a majority, voted against compensation plans at miner Xstrata PLC, oil major BP PLC, and Pearson, owner of the Financial Times.

The Shell vote, although nonbinding, shows how the economic downturn has inspired a new activism among shareholders, particularly in Europe, and a greater willingness to challenge board decisions, especially those perceived as rewarding failure.

In a charged meeting at Shell's headquarters in The Hague, which was broadcast live in London to U.K.-based shareholders, a succession of investors lined up to excoriate the board of the Anglo-Dutch company for awarding performance-based shares to executives despite the company's failure to reach its own internal targets.

Investors gasped in disbelief when results of the vote were displayed.

European investors are angry over bonuses that are relatively modest by U.S. standards. At Exxon Mobil Corp., the largest U.S. oil company, Chief Executive Rex Tillerson received a 2008 compensation package valued at $23.9 million, including $1.87 million in salary, a $4 million bonus and stock grants initially valued at $17.6 million, according to the company's latest proxy.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124274516683734915.html