Hefty stock awards and bonuses drove total compensation up more
than 20 percent for Washington’s highest-paid chief executives last
year, reflecting a nationwide trend among the largest public companies.
The awards came in a year when many top executives were busy
steering their companies out of the worst economic downturn since the
Great Depression. And for many, the packages are the last before new
government rules take effect this year mandating nonbinding “say-on-pay”
votes by shareholders.