Fred WhittleseyCannabis Compensation ConsultantsT I reside in the US, in the State of Washington where cannabis is legal. Vertical integration is prohibited, but it’s a start. We, of course, are neighbors with Canada where the legal status of cannabis is quite different and there is a lot of complexity about where companies are headquartered, the subsidiaries they have and where … Read More
“Retirement” or “Severance” and the disclosure of either or neither or both
Topic: Executive CompensationSub-Topic: Compensation Arrangements for Departing ExecutiveCompany: Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA) Most small companies have no retirement benefits or pensions, especially entrepreneurial cannabis companies. This follows the pattern of technology company startups over the past several decades. They frequently have severance arrangements for departing executives, and these are quite varied, from “none” to “lots” and every gradation in between Arena … Read More
Cannabis Compensation #5: Cannabis is a Schedule I Drug So We Can’t Have a 401(k) Plan, Right?
Wrong. Cannabis firms that “touch the flower” are operating under the shelter of their state’s law but are in violation of the federal Controlled Substances Act, categorizing cannabis as a Schedule I drug, along with heroin, LSD, and meth (cocaine is mere Schedule II drug along with Vicodin, Ritalin, and codeine; go figure). Cannabis is considered a “gateway drug” – once … Read More
Cannabis Compensation #4: What are cannabis companies like us doing about compensation?
Most public companies, and many private companies, develop a group of “peer” companies for compensation comparisons. And most generally follow the policy of Institutional Shareholders Services. ISS dictates that companies select peers based on the company’s industry code (GICS) and size (revenue and market cap). That is just not possible in the cannabis sector, because it is not an “industry” … Read More
The Problem with CEO “Pay Cuts”
CEO “pay cuts” are in vogue, from 100% salary reductions at companies including Alaska Airlines, Marriott, and Dick’s Sporting Goods to meaningless cosmetic actions like the CEO of Southwest Airlines taking a 10% salary reduction. These actions are concentrated in the industries most affected by the COVID-19 crisis: Airlines, hotels, movie theaters, restaurants, and the like. These range from 100% salary reductions … Read More
Cannabis Compensation #3: Live
I will be presenting at the Global Equity Organization (GEO) Americas Regional Conference on Tuesday, 22 October, in Huntington Beach (do I need to add “CA” to that? No.) I co-founded GEO in 1999 and at that time could not have imagined there would ever be a cannabis-related presentation at one of the conferences. But here we are. The … Read More
Conscious Compensation® – The Next Step Podcast
https://soundcloud.com/the-next-step-podcast/guest-16-fred-whittlesey-conscious-compensation
Cannabis Compensation #2: Executive Compensation in Cannabis Companies
From the Cannabis Compensation Consultant “A page-by-page peek at pair of popular pot periodicals and the people who publish pages for the partying portion of the population.” That was the subtitle of a term paper in Journalism 101, circa 1976, and the professor was the founder of the LA Free Press, Art Kunkin (died 30 April 2019). The paper received a … Read More
Cannabis Compensation #1
From the Cannabis Compensation Consultant I did inhale. I also held it in as long as I could to maximize the effects. Who would have thought that would ever intersect with my investing activity and commentary on executive compensation? (Full disclosure: I reside in the state of Washington where recreational cannabis is legal. We have a pot store just about … Read More
Stupid Compensation Plans – The Next Chapter
I am not understanding how a prospective, not retroactive, reduction in corporate tax rates should result in boards of directors and executives thinking that this should justify a $1,000 bonus for every employee. Whether you are an airline, or a bank, or neither an airline or a bank. Nevermind pay-for-performance so that people about to be fired get the same as the … Read More
