Ecolab CEO Baker Gets $5.7 Million In 2008

By BETSY VERECKEY

NEW YORK (AP) — Cleaning and pest services company Ecolab Inc. Chief Executive Douglas M. Baker Jr. received compensation valued at $5.7 million in 2008, down 33 percent from his 2007 pay package.

According to an Associated Press analysis of a proxy statement filed Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Baker received $1 million in base salary, up from $900,000 a year earlier. He earned a performance-based bonus of about $1.4 million, which is lower than the nearly $2 million he received in 2007.

Baker also received $157,560 in other compensation, or "perks," including costs associated with financial planning and spousal travel. That also includes $25,217 in life insurance premiums and $86,680 in matching contributions to savings and retirement plans. A year earlier, Baker received $180,094 in perks.

A large portion of Baker's compensation came from stock and stock options, which were valued at about $3.1 million when granted.

The Associated Press formula is designed to isolate the value the company's board placed on the executive's total compensation package during the last fiscal year. It includes salary, bonus, performance-related bonuses, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year.