Cisco Systems Inc. recently awarded year-end bonuses to several of its top officers, including US$3.5 million granted to CEO John Chambers.
The award was reported in a recent 8-K report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing notes that Chambers was given the bonus at the discretion of the network vendor’s Compensation and Management Development Committee, a committee of the board of directors.
The bonus to Chambers was independent of Cisco’s 2007 Professional and Leadership Incentive Plan, which was cited in the year-end awards to several other officers. Chief Financial Officer Dennis Powell received US$1.6 million; Worldwide Operations and Business Development Executive Vice President Richard Justice received US$2.3 million; Chief Development Officer Charles Giancarlo got US$1.9 million; and Executive Vice President for Operations Randy Pond got US$1.6 million.
Following the 2001 high-tech downturn, Chambers took only a US$1 annual salary for several years while building the company’s revenues and earnings.
Chambers started receiving the US$1 salary in May 2001 and did not accept a bonus. Effective Aug. 1, 2004, Chambers’ salary was reinstated at the rate it was in April 2001, at US$350,000, a spokesman said.