PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island opposes increased compensation packages for corporate executives if the pay is not aligned with company performance, General Treasurer Seth Magaziner announced Sept. 27.
During the past year, the R.I. State Investment Commission voted against executive-compensation proposals at several companies, including IBM, Aflac and American Express, in which proposed pay packages weren’t justified by company performance.
The votes express the commission’s sentiment about how companies should operate but are not a factor in the state’s decisions on pension investments, said Magaziner spokesman Evan England.
“We don’t divest over executive compensation,” he said, but “it is only advantageous to push companies to behave well.”
The commission unanimously adopted a stronger executive-compensation voting policy to advocate for more responsible executive pay, says Magaziner.
