Abbott CEO White Takes a Pay Cut

(MoneyWatch)  Abbott Labs CEO Miles White took a pay cut last year. His total compensation was only $28.3 million, down from $33.3 million the year before, per a proxy filing at the SEC.

The cut came despite the judgment by Abbott's board that White "exceeded" his strategic and financial goals. Abbott's stock outperformed the S&P 500 last year. Revenue and profits were both up. The company said:

Therefore, in February 2009, the Committee awarded Mr. White a Performance Incentive Plan bonus of $4,200,000 for his performance in 2008, intended to recognize his leadership in guiding the Company's industry leading performance.

Here's a summary of who earned what:

• Name, 2008 pay, 2007 pay
• CEO Miles D. White, $28.3 million, $33.3 million
• CFO Thomas C. Freyman, $6.8 million, $8.7 million
• EVP John M. Capek, $5.3 million, NA
• General counsel Laura J. Schumacher, $5.7 million, NA
• EVP James L. Tyree, $6.2 million, $5.7 million
• Source: SEC, numbers have been rounded.

The execs also got to use the corporate jet for business but not for pleasure. White and Freyman paid to travel on it for personal reasons. Here's how the company described it:

Non-business related flights on corporate aircraft are covered by time-sharing lease agreements, pursuant to which certain costs associated with those flights are reimbursed in accordance with Federal Aviation Administration regulations. Messrs. White and Freyman have such agreements and reimbursed the Company.

• See previous BNET stories on pharma executive compensation:
• Gilead Executive Pay: Modest Raises for Outstanding Performance
• Gilead Deal Gives CV Therapeutics CEO $8.4 Million Payday Despite Lack of Profits
• Pfizer's Kindler Got $4.2 Million Pay Raise, Despite What Business Press Says
• Pfizer Execs' Golden Parachute Is Actually a Pay Cut
• Gilead Deal Gives CV Therapeutics CEO $8.4 Million Payday Despite Lack of Profits
• Genentech's Levinson May Have No Change-of-Control Agreement in Roche Deal
• Amgen CEO Sharer: Options? No Thanks. I'll Just Take the Cash.
• Schering CEO Hassan Has $59 Million Buyout Agreement in Merck Merger
• Merck Executive Pay: $36 million, Use of Private Jet, Cash Bonuses Despite Failures
• Eli Lilly Execs Receive $48 Million in Pay; Plus Chairman Taurel Adds $40 Million Nest Egg
• Novo Nordisk Executive Compensation: A Picture of Modesty (Except for the Car Expenses)
• How Pharma's CEO Pay Packages Measure Up