US auto executives reap rewards from recovery

Alan Mulally has acquired holdings worth $317 million in six years as Ford Motor Co. chief executive officer, US analysts said. Mulally -- who is credited with helping Ford avoid bankruptcy during the financial meltdown that began in 2008 -- has about 7.3 million shares of company stock, worth more than $93.5 million, as well as 17.1 million in-the-money stock options, CNN Money reported Saturday. In addition, he has a retirement account that includes $3 million in company contributions. The $317 million does not include Ford shares Mulally sold for $64 million to pay for converting options and cover tax liabilities, the report said. Nor does it include $53.9 million Mulally received in salary, cash bonuses and other direct compensation through 2011, CNN reported, citing an analysis by Theo Francis, founder of Disclosure Matters, a firm that specializes in analysis of company filings. "Even for a CEO who brought a company back from the brink of collapse, Mulally has built up a remarkable amount of stock in quite a short period of time," Francis said. Ford -- whose share price is up more than 700 percent since early 2009 -- said Mulally's compensation is justified by the company's success since he joined Ford in 2006, CNN reported. Chrysler Group LLC Chairman and CEO Sergio Marchionne earned about $1.23 million in 2012, the automaker said this week in its annual report. Marchionne, who takes no salary from the Auburn Hills, Mich., company -- received no compensation in 2011 and $600,000 in 2010, mostly from stock option awards, The Detroit News reported. In addition, Marchionne received more than $100,000 for housing expenses, security, tax preparation services and other extras, the newspaper said. Marchionne has received about $22 million in compensation as CEO of Fiat SpA and chairman of Fiat Industrial SpA, the report said. Neither company has released details on Marchionne's pay for 2012. Several other Chrysler executives received pay raise in 2012, including Chief Financial Officer Richard K. Palmer, whose compensation increased from $1.46 million in 2011 to $3.71 million in 2012, and former general counsel and secretary Holly Leese, whose compensation increased from $1.53 million in 2011 to $4.06 million in 2012, the newspaper said. Chrysler executives received cash bonuses in February. They had previously been ineligible for bonuses under terms of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the federal program that helped rescue the US auto industry.