Research Reports
Since its founding in 1973, FW Cook has published annual reports that offer in-depth analysis of executive compensation trends, providing trusted, data-driven insights to inform sound decision-making.
2021 Director Compensation Report
Research Report | By Jose Furman, Alex Swan, 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.
Retaining the C-Suite After CEO Turnover
Research Report | By Marco Pizzitola, Joe Sorrentino
Effective CEO succession is critical to the potential success of a company. For a CEO to set and execute a winning strategy, a stable, engaged, and high functioning team is needed in the C-suite. However, CEO succession can often result in the departure of other senior executives. One common strategy to limit post-succession turnover is to make special retention grants to some or all of the leadership team.
2020 Director Compensation Report
Research Report | By Stephan Bosshard
FW Cook’s 2020 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.
2020 Use of Environmental, Social, and Governance Measures in Incentive Plans
Research Report | By Erin Bass-Goldberg, Tahmid Ali
Driven by multiple stakeholders embracing the premise that a strong ESG proposition is an essential element to sustainable long-term company performance, attention on company ESG behavior and transparency is rapidly increasing. This report looks at the current practices among the largest U.S. public companies with respect to use of ESG measures within incentive programs.
2020 Top 250 Report
Research Report | By Andrew Lash, Joey Choi, Matt Lum
COVID-19 has created a business environment of unprecedented volatility and uncertainty – challenging leaders’ ability to establish short and long-term business forecasts and forcing boards of directors and compensation professionals to re-assess incentive programs. This report presents information on long-term incentives granted to executives at the 250 largest U.S. companies in the S&P 500 Index.
2020 Aggregate Share-Based Compensation
Research Report | By James Garriga
Our fourth study of aggregate share-based compensation includes findings on company-wide annual grant rates; overhang; frequency and prevalence of long-term incentive plan share requestes; and allocation of long-term incentive pools to the CEO and other proxy officers.
2019 Top 250 Report
Research Report | By Eva Gencheva, Christina LaRocque
FW Cook’s 2019 Top 250 Report is the Firm’s 47th annual report on long-term incentives granted to executives at the 250 largest U.S. companies in the S&P 500 Index.
2019 Director Compensation Report
Research Report | By Ted Simmons, Tahmid Ali, Sara Salzbank
FW Cook’s 2019 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.
2019 Annual Incentive Plan Report
Research Report | By Tom Kohn, Joe Sorrentino
FW Cook’s 2019 Annual Incentive Plan Report focuses on annual incentive plan design practices among the largest 250 companies in the S&P 500 by market capitalization. While designs vary between companies and industries, some common themes among the Top 250 companies were observed.
2018 Global Top 250 Compensation Survey
Research Report | By David Cole, Stephen Hom, Jason Light
FW Cook, FIT Remuneration Consultants and Pretium Partners are proud to present our inaugural Global Top 250 Compensation Survey, which contains information on compensation levels for the CEO and CFO roles, the design of long-term incentives, and share usage at the 250 largest listed companies globally.
2018 Director Compensation Report
Research Report | By Alexa Kierzkowski
FW Cook’s 2018 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. Median pay key findings include…
2018 Top 250 Report
Research Report | By Rachel Gibbons, Sarah Lindenberg Cohen, Erin Bass-Goldberg
This 46th annual FW Cook Top 250 Report details the long-term incentive practices and trends of the 250 largest companies in the S&P 500. Notable trends and key findings from this year’s study include…
Executive Compensation Data
With our in-house compensation data analytics, you benefit from the market’s most accurate and comprehensive data…