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Research Report

November 11, 2021

2021 Director Compensation Report

Research Report | By Jose Furman, Eric Henken

FW Cook’s 2021 Director Compensation Report studies non-employee director compensation at 300 companies of various sizes and industries to analyze market practices in pay levels and program structure.

Overall 2021 total compensation, at the median, increased modestly among small-cap and mid-cap companies compared to large-cap companies, where it was generally flat: the small-cap median changed, +3.2% to $185,833, the mid-cap median increased by +3.9% to $236,000, and the large-cap median increased +0.7% to $294,167.

jose-furmanJose Furman
Principal

Jose Furman’s primary responsibilities include conducting market research and analyzing pay levels, designing incentive plans, and examining market trends. Representative projects include leverage performance unit modeling, extensive pay-for-performance analyses, realizable compensation, and new-hire CEO recruiting compensation packages.

eric-henkenEric Henken
Managing Director

Eric Henken works with companies from a diverse mix of industries, company sizes, and life-cycle stages. He has experience partnering directly with compensation committees in the development of executive compensation programs that align the interests of executives and stakeholders. He is a featured speaker at national industry conference events including the American Bar Association, World@Work, and Corporate Board Member.

Additional Publications

By Jose Furman

September 23, 2024
2024 Top 250 Annual Incentive Plan Report
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February 27, 2024
BlackRock’s Voting Choice Program Expands to Individual Retail Investors
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November 11, 2021
2021 Director Compensation Report
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January 3, 2019
CEO Pay Ratio: Year 2 Planning
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By Eric Henken

April 10, 2024
Post-Pandemic LTI Design Trends
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November 11, 2021
2021 Director Compensation Report
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September 30, 2020
Prepping for a Post-Pandemic Proxy Season
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January 3, 2019
CEO Pay Ratio: Year 2 Planning
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November 27, 2018
ISS Releases 2019 Voting Policy Updates and Preliminary FAQs
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