Connie Lau, president and CEO of Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc., walked away from 2015 with half the pay package she received in 2014.
Lau total compensation was $2.7 million in 2015, according to a filing Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That’s 52 percent lower than the $5.6 million she received in 2014. Her pay package for 2015 is her lowest compensation since 2007 when she earned $1.7 million.
Publicly traded companies typically file documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the spring that detail the compensation for their top five executives as well as their directors.
“Connie’s compensation reflects the size and complexity of HEI (the combined bank and utility), which is the largest public company in the state,” said Cliff Chen, HEI manager of investor relations. “Her 2015 pay was among the lowest for Hawaii public company CEOs and was 52 percent lower than last year. Nearly 60 percent of the compensation reported is not guaranteed because it depends on future performance. It’s important to note that none of her compensation is included in Oahu electric rates.”
In 2014 Lau ranked second on the list of highest-paid executives in Hawaii. Lau had topped the list of highest-paid Hawaii CEOs for three years in a row before Peter Ho, chairman, president and CEO of Bank of Hawaii, overtook her in 2014. Ho’s compensation was
$7.9 million in 2014 and
$5.2 million in 2015.
One of the biggest changes for Lau’s compensation was the amount she received in stock awards. She received $629,588 in 2015, which was less than half of the $1.9 million in stock awards she received in 2014.
Lau’s base salary in 2015 was $839,450, up 3 percent from $815,000 in 2014. Her total compensation for 2015 also included $1.2 million in nonequity incentive plan compensation.
James Ajello, HEI executive vice president and chief financial officer, made $1.5 million in 2015 compared with $2 million in 2014.
Chet Richardson, HEI executive vice president and general counsel, made
$1 million in 2015, down from $1.5 million in 2014.
The top executive of HEI’s electric utility subsidiary, Hawaiian Electric Co. President Alan Oshima, received a pay package of $1.4 million compared with $1.1 million in 2014.
Richard Wacker, president and CEO of HEI subsidiary American Savings Bank, received $1.4 million compared with $1.8 million in 2014.
The state Public Utilities Commission is currently reviewing NextEra Energy Inc.’s proposed $4.3 billion purchase of HEI. The transaction needs PUC approval to close. The purchase agreement between HEI and NextEra has a closing end date of June 3. If the transaction does not close by this deadline, either party can walk away from the deal.
If NextEra had successfully purchased HEI before the end of 2015, Lau would have walked away with $12.3 million, according to the filing. She would have received $10.1 million if her job was terminated with the change in control and
$2.2 million for a retirement payment.
Ajello would have received $4.5 million if the sale were to close and walked away with a $3.7 million change-in-control payment and an $800,000 retirement payment. Richardson would have walked away with a $2.7 million change-in-control payment and a $558,000 retirement payment for a total payment package of
$3.2 million. Oshima does not have a change-of-control agreement.
In the filing, HEI announced its annual shareholder meeting will be
10 a.m. May 4, on the eighth floor of the American Savings Bank Tower.
