CEO salary winners, losers

BIG REWARDS FOR SOME | Abbott Labs did well, and so did its boss, but it was a different story at United

A big year for Abbott Laboratories made for a big year for the CEO.

Abbott's profit doubled, while CEO Miles White's pay grew 48 percent
in 2007, according to a survey for the Chicago Sun-Times by the Delves
Group, a Chicago-based compensation and corporate governance consulting
firm.

» Click to enlarge image

Miles White, CEO at Abbott Laboratories, saw his
pay grow 48 percent in 2007 to $30.2 million, far ahead of his peers,
as the company doubled its profit.
(Michael Schmidt/STNG)

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The survey showed that White far outpaced his peers in total pay --
receiving $30.2 million vs. No. 2 Baxter International CEO Robert
Parkinson Jr.'s $16.2 million.

Abbott Labs' fiscal 2007 net income jumped 110 percent from the previous year, and its stock price jumped 18 percent.

An Abbott spokeswoman said the CEO's compensation rewards White's
leadership and performance in 2007, a year in which he exceeded his
strategic and financial goals and the company's overall returns to
shareholders jumped 18 percent.

Abbott's results outshone its peers in the Standard & Poor's 500 for the second straight year, the spokeswoman said.

Abbott, headquartered in unincorporated Libertyville, is the largest company in market capitalization based in the Chicago area.

Meanwhile, Alberto-Culver CEO V. James Marino saw his total pay soar 153 percent, to $5.3 million.

The increase happened because Marino got a promotion -- becoming
president and CEO of Alberto-Culver on Nov. 17, 2006, the start of the
company's fiscal 2007 year.

Marino became CEO after Alberto-Culver spun off its Sally Beauty Supply distribution businesses.

Nisource CEO Robert Skaggs Jr. realized a 185.7 percent increase in
total compensation, to $2.14 million. The utility's net income stayed
flat in fiscal 2007 at $312 million.

A Nisource spokesman said the increase reflected the fact that the
utility in 2006 suspended its restricted stock grants to save money.
The restricted stock grants were reinstated in fiscal year 2007.

The second-biggest decline in compensation occurred at Archer
Daniels Midland, where CEO Patricia Woertz saw her total pay drop 75.6
percent to $11 million. The agribusiness giant's net income jumped 65
percent, to $2.1 billion, in 2007. An ADM spokesman declined comment.

United Airlines CEO Glenn Tilton had the greatest decline. His pay
shrank 97 percent to $1.27 million, the lowest total compensation of
the 27 Chicago area CEOs in the Delves' survey. United parent UAL Corp.
said that because it was in bankruptcy, all stock options and
restricted stock awards were canceled.