If you’re a Netflix investor, you might want to reach for some pills to control your blood pressure. Although the home video company lost 62.5% of its market value last year, CEO Reed Hastings did just fine — as did all of the other top executives named in the proxy that Netflix filed today at the SEC. True, Hastings’ salary was cut 3.7% to $500,000. The document says that the Compensation Committee “took into account the Company’s performance during 2011 and reduced the Chief Executive Officer’s total compensation by $1.5 million.” But Hastings shouldn’t feel much pain. His stock option award was up nearly 76% to $8.8M. All of the company’s other top execs also made more in 2011 than they did the previous year — collectively they were up 27.6%. Hastings’s compensation accounted for 40% of the pay for the company’s five top execs. His take was about 2.7 times the average for his colleagues. Corporate governance activists become skeptical when the CEO makes more than three times the average. Still, Hastings likely will have to deal with some angry shareholders at the annual meeting, taking place this year on June 1 at the company headquarters in Los Gatos, Calif. The proxy includes shareholder resolutions empowering investors to vote on annually on the entire board. Only one of the seven directors members is up for election this year; three others are up next year and the remaining three are up in 2014. Another proposal would require Netflix to hold a special meeting for investors if owners of at least one-tenth of the shares want one. Netflix opposes both proposals.


Interesting. Make a bonehead decision, costing your shareholders 60% of their wealth, and you still make out like a bandit. Nice work if you can get it.
Seriously, what will it take for the people to demand a change in this era of enormous reward to top CEO’s for failure on every level.
This era of corporate greed is just disgusting. I don’t know why shareholders put up with this BS. This idiot tanked the company by raising prices and losing customers and then with all the BS about changing names and having 2 companies, then going back. He’s got to be one of the most idiotic CEO’s around and he’s still making out like a bandit.
Someone has got to stop these people.
I’m all for paying well if a company makes a profit BUT THESE COMPANIES ARE LOSING PROFITS and these corporate bigwigs are still making out, raiding their companies.
At least he’s the founder, not some moron who knew the right people, took the job, sucked, and then was rewarded.
I thought the era of rewarding failure went out with Bush?
Nope. It was perfected by Obama. That’s what happens when you staff the Fed with Goldman Sachs flunkies.
That’s a neat trick. I saw what you did there. I think magicians call it mis-direction. Don’t look here, look over there. Of course it’s pathetic but nice try.
Oh, ok. So you inherit a mess and are blamed for it? So who can I sue for being born into a lower middle class family with alcoholics for parents? Oh right…based on your logic, it’s my fault.
What a joke. Hastings is actively trying to burn his company to the ground and he gets paid enormous sums of money for it.
Is anyone still wondering why NetFlix can’t afford quality content?
CEO’s need a salary cap. Look how awesome the salary cap made the NFL.
And if I’m not mistaken, he’ll be paying a whopping 15% in capital gains on that $8.8 million in stock options. This is precisely the kind of stuff that has so many Americans fuming and that even the most middle class conservatives inexplicably continue to defend: these guys get paid huge sums of money REGARDLESS of how well the companies they manage/run/lead are doing. They have no accountability, because of the cushy relationship between them and their boards…blah-blah-blah, we all know this already. Let’s hope that the (symbolic) shareholder revolt at Citi is the tip of the iceberg…
That’s about the same percentage that Netflix jacked up subscription rates. Coincidence?
I am *SHOCKED* that Netflix made another bad decision at the corporate level. In other news, the sun rose this morning.
He WAS innovative. He WAS intriguing, he WAS a liveable manager. But now he isn’t. Hastings is responsible for more than one PR disaster, a falling out with Starz, a gigantic subscriber loss, and has proven to be nothing more than an studio exec wannabe.
I’d like to see a CitiGroup style response to what I can only call total and utter bullshit.
Well, it looks like all those OWS people and 99%’s better cancel their Netflix subscription. Maybe they should throw out their Starbucks cards and iPhones too while they are at it. I am sure they don’t want to support that evil 1%…
I don’t understand this company and thank goodness I canceled my service with them when I did. What an inept company with a tool running this firm into the ground and yet, this fool gets a 68% raise after the damage he caused a year ago? Only in America!
Please, Hastings acts as the proprietor of Netflix and has created a great amount of wealth for his shareholders and until the recent missteps Netflix stock was a standout performer.
They have done absolutely brilliant things from an IT and operational perspective as well as the content side.
They truly had a competitive advantage with the mail model but moving to online is a different issue. Carriers hate them b/c they don’t pay for the bandwidth they use and Amazon, Apple and Comcast among others all covet their customer with a similar delivery model. What Hastings is guilty of is arrogance and an insular thought process (not unknown in Hollywood) when he decided to jettison the mail business without admitting that the streaming services just did not have the necessary content. Plus, as time and competitive pressure progress, it will be harder for Netflix to maintain it’s momentum.
When you start demanding actors return money when their films bomb, you might get taken seriously.
Dear Netflix Board of Directors: Please >don’t< hire me as CEO of Netflix. That way when you send me a check for nearly $8 million, you will at least know that I didn't cost the company millions of subscribers and multiple public relations nightmares. By me not being involved in the company in any way, shape, or form, I will save you untold millions.
You're welcome.
Don’t close Netflix until I’m finished with the MI-5 series! Nothing as well done American TV!
I’m laughing at the opening line of this post but only because I’m not a Netflix shareholder.