S.D. Executives Miss Cut on Best-Paid List : Salaries: Many were paid handsomely but none made the list of the state’s 50 highest paid executives.
While no San Diego executives were on the list of the 50 best paid California executives in the annual salary survey published Sunday by The Times, several did quite handsomely last year, thank you.
As shown in the accompanying chart, HomeFed Corp. Chairman Kim Fletcher led all executives at San Diego-based publicly held companies with a 1989 compensation package of $1,140,417. Fletcher was paid $733,593 in salary and bonus and $406,824 under terms of HomeFed’s supplemental income and retirement plans for its top executives.
Fletcher, 62, who in January stepped down as HomeFed chief executive and handed over the S&L;’s day-to-day reins to Robert Adelizzi, will remain board chairman and continue to draw at least $570,000 per year in salary according to terms of a 5-year employment contract with HomeFed.
Fletcher’s compensation package was paid during a year when HomeFed made record profits and solidified its standing as one of the nation’s strongest savings and loans in an otherwise troubled industry. In 1989, HomeFed net income was $115.7 million, up 4% from the previous year. Assets grew 4% to $17.8 billion, while loans and deposits both grew by nearly 7%.
But shareholders saw little benefit as HomeFed stock was tarred by the brush that tainted nearly all other S&L; stocks. HomeFed shares closed Friday at $29.75, down from a high last year of $47.50, and at approximately 60% of book value per share. Although HomeFed’s capital levels continue at enviable levels, it announced an alarming 10% increase in bad loans over the month of April.
Second highest paid San Diego-area executive in 1989 was Charles R. (Red) Scott, chief executive of Intermark, a La Jolla-based holding company with interests in 12 “partner” companies. For the year ended March 31, 1989, Scott received cash and bonus totaling $828,972 and stock options worth $49,793.
In fiscal 1989, Intermark’s profit dipped to $215,000 from $6.4 million the previous year. Revenues grew, however, to $720.7 million from $620.2 million in fiscal 1988. For the first nine months of fiscal 1990, Intermark’s profit picture continued to worsen. For those three quarters, Intermark posted a $12.4 million loss, contrasted with a $7.4 million profit over the same period last year.
Third highest paid San Diego executive was Price Co. executive vice president Ted Wallace, who was paid $239,972 in salary and an additional $487,592 in stock options. Nonetheless, top executives at Price Co., operator of 47 Price Club discount warehouses, continue to be among the state’s most underpaid when their salaries are compared with executive salaries at other companies of comparable size, growth or profitability.
Price Co. chairman and chief executive Robert Price, for example, earned just $248,692 in 1989 while leading the company to the $5 billion revenue milestone in 1989, a 21% increase from the previous year. Price Co. also maintained its position as one of the state’s most profitable companies in terms of its average return on equity over the last two fiscal years.
Next on the list was HomeFed President Adelizzi, who made $670,045 in 1989. Of that total, $72,240 was paid in the form of supplemental retirement and income benefits.
Cubic Corp. senior vice president C.C. “Sam” Wellborn was paid $655,891, a sum that included a $400,000 lump sum severance benefit. Wellborn retired from Cubic last June after 32 years with the company after it became known that Wellborn and Cubic were targets of a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into defense contracting practices.
Seventh highest paid executive with $599,303 in 1989 compensation was Great American Bank Chairman and Chief Executive Gordon Luce, 64, who last week confirmed reports that he will retire this year once the S&L; finds a replacement.
Prominent in San Diego cultural and civic affairs, Luce built Great American into an industry powerhouse after joining the S&L; in 1969. But his accomplishments were overshadowed in recent months by steep losses due mainly to problems loans in Arizona that have put the S&L; in danger of being seized by regulators.
Tenth on the list was Gary Liebl who resigned as chairman and chief executive of Cipher Data Products in April shortly after the the company was acquired by Archive Corp. of Costa Mesa through a $123 million tender offer. Liebl and eight other executives at Cipher received a total of $2.7 million in severance packages.
SAN DIEGO’S HIGHEST PAID EXECUTIVES
NAME TITLE COMPANY Fletcher, Kim COB HomeFed Corp. Scott, Charles R. P-CEO Intermark Inc. Wallace, Ted EVP Price Co. Adelizzi, Robert F. P-CEO-Dir HomeFed Corp. Page, Tomas A. COB-P-CEO SDG&E; Wellborn C.C. SVP Cubic Corp. Luce, Gordon C. COB-CEO Great American Zable, Walter J. COB-P-CEO Cubic Corp. Roach John J. COS HomeFed Corp. Liebl Gary E. COB-CEO Cipher Data Products Barry, John S. P WD-40 Gibbs, William P-CEO DH Technology Bahre E.T. COB-CEO-P Computer & Communication Tech Creed, John M. COB-P-CEO Chart House Enterprises Waney, Arjun C. COB-CEO-Dir. Beeba’s Creations Marinaro, Edward L. P-COO Cipher Data Products Nichol, William D. CFO HomeFed Corp. Lindland, Roger K. P-MDI Great American Shortley, George M. P-CEO-DIR PS Group Thomas, J.E. EVP-COO SDG&E; Huffman, Richard P-COO Furnishings 2000 Kolb, Alan C. COB-CEO-Dir. Maxwell Labs. Levitz, Sam R. VP Furnishings 2000 Brownlee, Conrad E. Sec.-CFO Furnishings 2000 Hayes Jr., Monson H. P-COO-Dir. Maxwell Labs.
NAME 1989 TOTAL SALARY, STOCK STOCK COMPENSAITON BONUS OPTIONS AWARDS Fletcher, Kim $1,140,417 $733,593 0 0 Scott, Charles R. 881,764 828,972 49,793 2,999 Wallace, Ted 727,564 239,972 487,592 0 Adelizzi, Robert F. 670,045 597,805 0 0 Page, Tomas A. 659,117 646,915 0 0 Wellborn C.C. 655,891 655,891 0 0 Luce, Gordon C. 599,303 598,540 0 0 Zable, Walter J. 577,111 577,111 0 0 Roach John J. 480,661 286,216 189,570 0 Liebl Gary E. 460,162 457,672 0 2,490 Barry, John S. 455,395 352,500 102,895 0 Gibbs, William 446,387 446,387 0 0 Bahre E.T. 435,259 277,759 0 157,500 Creed, John M. 422,904 422,904 0 0 Waney, Arjun C. 410,970 410,970 0 0 0 Marinaro, Edward L. 381,035 379,574 0 1,461 0 Nichol, William D. 369,703 311,483 52,171 0 Lindland, Roger K. 355,894 355,131 0 0 Shortley, George M. 351,701 351,701 0 0 Thomas, J.E. 340,072 333,444 0 0 Huffman, Richard 325,000 100,000 0 0 Kolb, Alan C. 319,192 291,445 0 0 Levitz, Sam R. 315,000 90,000 0 0 Brownlee, Conrad E. 310,000 85,000 0 0 Hayes Jr., Monson H. 306,540 278,817 0 0
NAME OTHER Fletcher, Kim $406,824 Scott, Charles R. 0 Wallace, Ted 0 Adelizzi, Robert F. 72,240 Page, Tomas A. 12,202 Wellborn C.C. 0 Luce, Gordon C. 763 Zable, Walter J. 0 Roach John J. 4,875 Liebl Gary E. 0 Barry, John S. 0 Gibbs, William 0 Bahre E.T. 0 Creed, John M. 0 Waney, Arjun C. 410,970 Marinaro, Edward L. 381,035 Nichol, William D. 6,049 Lindland, Roger K. 763 Shortley, George M. 0 Thomas, J.E. 6,628 Huffman, Richard 225,000 Kolb, Alan C. 27,747 Levitz, Sam R. 225,000 Brownlee, Conrad E. 225,000 Hayes Jr., Monson H. 27,723
(Guide to title abbreviations: CEO-chief executive officer; CES-chief executive of subsidiary; CFO-chief financial officer; COB-chairman of the board; COO-chief operating officer; COS-chairman of subsidiary; Dir.-director; EVP-executive vice president; MDI-managing director; P-president; Sec.-secretary; SVP-senior vice president; VP-vice president.) Source: Proxy statements and annual reports of publicly held California companies wtih revenues exceeding $20 million.
