$1.25-Million Special Bonus for Rockwell Chief

Donald R. Beall, chairman and former chief executive of Rockwell International Corp., received a special bonus of $1.25 million in recognition of his “pivotal role” in transforming the company, Rockwell said in a regulatory filing.

During his tenure, Beall led Rockwell’s switch from an aerospace and defense giant that collected 64 cents of every dollar of its revenue from the U.S. government to a technology company now considered a leader in electronics, avionics and automation systems.

Analysts say it has been one of the most dramatic and high-profile corporate restructurings in the aerospace industry.

The special payment was part of a $4.88-million compensation package Beall received for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, Rockwell said in a proxy statement filed Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The 1997 payments represent a 39% increase from the $3.51 million Beall got in 1996.

The 59-year-old executive unexpectedly retired as chief executive officer Sept. 30, after serving as chairman and CEO since February 1988. Beall plans to step down as chairman after the company’s annual meeting, scheduled for Feb. 4.

The board compensation committee awarded Beall the $1.25-million bonus for guiding the transformation of Rockwell “from a broadly diversified concern into an enterprise sharply focused on commercial electronics markets,” the filing said.

Under Beall, Rockwell’s aerospace and military business was sold to Boeing Co. in 1996 for $3.2 billion. In October, the company completed the spinoff of its automotive component systems business into a separately traded public company named Meritor Automotive Inc.

Beall received $1 million in salary last year, up from $907,500 in 1996. His annual cash bonus rose to $2.25 million last year from $2 million in fiscal 1996.

Other compensation, including the special bonus, totaled $1.63 million in 1997, compared with $279,753 the year before. But Beall’s income from options dropped to zero last year from $324,042 in 1996.

Rockwell stock prices rose 50 cents Monday to $51.69 a share on the New York Stock Exchange.