Some Software CEOs Felt the Pain; Some Just the Gain

Some CEOs of software companies share your pain. Others don't.

With 2002 proxies coming in, investors can get a look at how software's ugly year on Wall Street affected compensation in the corner office. It may be a confusing picture, since the connection between share performance and compensation seems uneven at best. (Our informal survey did not include salaries at some software companies, such as Microsoft(MSFT Quote) and Oracle(ORCL Quote), which will not file current proxies until later in the year.)

Sybase (SY Quote) CEO John Chen, for example, suffered even more than his shareholders. While Sybase stock sank 15.2% in calendar 2002, Chen's cash compensation package plunged by 75% and his options award was cut in half. The biggest difference in Chen's package: a restricted stock award valued at $4.36 million in 2001 that was not repeated in 2002. ...