Case | HBS Case Collection | July 2013 (Revised September 2019)

Say on Pay: Qualcomm, Inc. Shareholders Vote 'Maybe'

by Suraj Srinivasan, Charles C.Y. Wang and Kelly Baker

Abstract

This case centers around Qualcomm shareholders' 2012 Say-on-Pay vote and the dispute between the Institutional Shareholder Services and management regarding the appropriateness of the CEO's compensation plan. Was ISS right that Qualcomm's CEO's pay was inflated and justified by benchmarking to aspirational peers? Or was management correct that its CEO's pay is warranted by Qualcomm's recent firm performance?

Keywords: ISS; proxy advisor; investor communication; investor relations; peers; Say-on-Pay; benchmarking; peer group; compensation committees; board of directors; Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Corporate Governance; Business and Shareholder Relations; Telecommunications Industry;

Language: English Format: Print 19 pages EducatorsPurchase

Citation:

Srinivasan, Suraj, Charles C.Y. Wang, and Kelly Baker. "Say on Pay: Qualcomm, Inc. Shareholders Vote 'Maybe'." Harvard Business School Case 114-005, July 2013. (Revised September 2019.)

Related Work

  1. Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | March 2014 (Revised September 2019)

    Say on Pay: Qualcomm, Inc. Shareholders Vote 'Maybe'

    Suraj Srinivasan and Charles C.Y. Wang

    This case centers around Qualcomm shareholders' 2012 Say-on-Pay vote and the dispute between the Institutional Shareholder Services and management regarding the appropriateness of the CEO's compensation plan. Was ISS right that Qualcomm CEO's pay was inflated and justified by benchmarking to aspirational peers? Or was management correct that its CEO's pay is warranted by Qualcomm's recent firm performance?

    Keywords: ISS; proxy advisor; investor communication; investor relations; peers; Say-on-Pay; benchmarking; peer group; compensation committee; board of directors; Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Corporate Governance; Business and Shareholder Relations;

    Citation:

    Srinivasan, Suraj, and Charles C.Y. Wang. "Say on Pay: Qualcomm, Inc. Shareholders Vote 'Maybe'." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 114-065, March 2014. (Revised September 2019.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsPurchase Related

  2. Case | HBS Case Collection | July 2013 (Revised September 2019)

    Say on Pay: Qualcomm, Inc. Shareholders Vote 'Maybe'

    Suraj Srinivasan, Charles C.Y. Wang and Kelly Baker

    This case centers around Qualcomm shareholders' 2012 Say-on-Pay vote and the dispute between the Institutional Shareholder Services and management regarding the appropriateness of the CEO's compensation plan. Was ISS right that Qualcomm's CEO's pay was inflated and justified by benchmarking to aspirational peers? Or was management correct that its CEO's pay is warranted by Qualcomm's recent firm performance?

    Keywords: ISS; proxy advisor; investor communication; investor relations; peers; Say-on-Pay; benchmarking; peer group; compensation committees; board of directors; Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Corporate Governance; Business and Shareholder Relations; Telecommunications Industry;

    Citation:

    Srinivasan, Suraj, Charles C.Y. Wang, and Kelly Baker. "Say on Pay: Qualcomm, Inc. Shareholders Vote 'Maybe'." Harvard Business School Case 114-005, July 2013. (Revised September 2019.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase Related

About the Authors

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Suraj Srinivasan
Philip J. Stomberg Professor of Business Administration
Accounting and Management

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Charles C.Y. Wang
Glenn and Mary Jane Creamer Associate Professor of Business Administration
Accounting and Management

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