On August 4, 2022, the executive career advancement website IvyExec  published an article I wrote on “Executive Sign on Bonus, Retention Bonus and Other Bonuses – Terms and Negotiations.”

This new article is designed not only for C-level and senior executives, but even for many directors and mid-level executives who when negotiating a new executive job offer or employment contract need to give equal and perhaps greater focus on the structure and terms of bonus as they do to base salary compensation.

My article discusses five (5) key bonus structures:

• Sign-on bonus to make the executive whole for items given up,
• Sign-on bonus to compensate for the risks in changing companies,
• Guaranteed bonus,
• Performance bonus based on company achievement,
• Performance bonus based on individual achievement.

The article also suggests other important issues in the determination, calculation and payout of the bonus.

My article also discusses a retention bonus or stay bonus as a one-time payment or a one-time retention agreement for considerations for the executive to commit to staying with the company for a set period of time or through to a planned event (for example, an acquisition).

To see my full IvyExec  career advancement website article, go to LINK: https://www.ivyexec.com/career-advice/2022/executive-sign-on-bonus-retention-bonus-and-other-bonuses-terms-and-negotiations/ 

Or on my website at  https://www.executiveemploymentattorney.com/executive-sign-on-bonus-retention-bonus-and-other-bonuses-terms-and-negotiations/

IvyExec hosts articles and webinars from experts in the career, leadership, and business spaces who wish to share their knowledge with our audience.  In April 2021, I was invited to write for IvyExec since it seeks original content on the topics of career development, leadership, and business strategy as it applies to senior-level and C-Suite professionals.  IvyExec blog posts and webinars are shared with its community of more than 2 million members on its website, in its newsletter, and on its social media channels.  https://www.ivyexec.com/career-advice/write-for-us/

IvyExec claims a “Community of 2.5M+ Leaders”.

It is my hope that this article will be helpful to CEOs and other senior executives who are considering or re-visiting the executive compensation piece of a job offer or employment contract and need to focus on bonus structure and terms every bit as much as base salary. If you or any colleague of yours has a need in this area, please do reach out to me at rob@attorneyadelson.com.

On January 26, 2022, the career advice website Ivy Exec published under executive “Leadership” an article  I wrote on “Are You Getting the C-Suite Executive Salary You Deserve?

This new article is designed for designed for CEOs, C-level and senior executives, who are negotiating new job offers where, in my view, the normal metrics a Gartner or Mercer surveys are just not appropriate for the CEO or C-level executive compensation package, and I am called upon to suggest, design and then lead the negotiations for a custom executive compensation package.

My article first suggests three situations well suited to justify development and deployment of a custom executive compensation package:

• Start-up and early stage company CEOs,
• Turnaround CEO situation, and
• Special needs executive recruitment – where a CEO or C-level executive has special attributes that fill a critical need for the company.

My article then moves on to discuss that the custom package must not only make up for your loss of pay and benefits to leave your current employer, but even more so, to make up for three further critical intangibles as well, and hence – what should be included on your custom executive compensation package? And how much equity compensation should you ask for? 

The article then concludes with my suggestions for how the executive can achieve company “Buy-in” – how do you sell the custom CEO or C-level executive compensation package to a skeptical employer?  This last part shares there of my best “sales” techniques:

• You (employer) want and need an “A” team player and one who will attract more A team players to the company.
• You want alignment and this custom package greatly magnifies alignment, and
• Success for my executive, even with this full custom package, means vastly greater success to the company’s stockholders, often 10x, 15x and even 20x pay back return for the company’s stockholders, if the CEO or C-level executive succeeds in his or her mission, and costs little or nothing if he or she does not succeed.

​To see my full IvyExec article, go to LINK: https://www.ivyexec.com/career-advice/2021/executive-equity-structure/

Or on my website at https://www.executiveemploymentattorney.com/are-you-getting-the-c-suite-executive-salary-you-deserve/

IvyExec hosts articles and webinars from experts in the career, leadership, and business spaces who wish to share their knowledge with our audience.  In April 2021, I was invited to write for IvyExec since it seeks original content on the topics of career development, leadership, and business strategy as it applies to senior-level and C-Suite professionals.  IvyExec blog posts and webinars are shared with its community of more than 2 million members on its website, in its newsletter, and on its social media channels.  https://www.ivyexec.com/career-advice/write-for-us/

IvyExec claims a “Community of 2.5M+ Leaders”.

It is my hope that this article will be of benefit to C-level and senior executives who are considering job offers in situations where a custom executive compensation package of salary, bonus, and equity is appropriate.  Feel free to tweet or share this article. If you or any colleague of yours has a need in this area, please do reach out to me.

On September 2, 2021, CEOWorld magazine published an article I wrote on “Duty of “Good Faith and Fair Dealing” Ensures Your Executive Compensation is not Taken Away from You”.
This new article is designed for CEOs, C-level and senior executives, who at some point face employment termination for no good reason when you are close to making a big score for what you have achieved for the company.

My article discusses an important duty or implied covenant in the law that provides that even if you are an employee “at will”, with no contractual rights, you might still have a valid enforceable claim against your employer to be made whole — to be paid what you are due. The article discusses landmark state Supreme Court cases from three different states around the USA where plaintiffs have been made whole because of the defendant’s breach of the duty of “Good Faith and Fair Dealing”. In doing so, courts consider where the plaintiff suffered harm because he or she was prevented from receiving the benefits of their agreement, including these bad faith actions by a defendant:

• Preventing the other party from performing its obligations,
• Engaging in schemes to deprive the other party of its right to benefits or withholding contractual benefits,
• Seeking to obtain benefits prohibited by contract,
• Having no intent to complete a contract or engaging in a contract that is unreasonable or deceitful.

My article concludes with discussion of two of my recent client representations of senior executives from two different states and different industries, where the executives did all that was expected of them from the time of their hiring, and, in doing so, made important contributions to their companies but were, in the end, prevented from realizing the benefits they had bargained for and earned, and thus how each had claims under this duty or doctrine of Good Faith and Fair Dealing.
To see my full CEOWorld magazine. article, go to LINK: 
https://ceoworld.biz/2021/09/02/duty-of-good-faith-and-fair-dealing-ensures-your-executive-compensation-is-not-taken-away-from-you/
Or: 
https://www.executiveemploymentattorney.com/duty-of-good-faith-and-fair-dealing-ensures-your-executive-compensation-is-not-taken-away-from-you/
This was my 35th article published in CEOWORLD since 2016. Previously, the editor advised that I can use “Featured in the CEOWORLD magazine” and the CEOWORLD “Logo” on my website and add CEOWORLD magazine in my LinkedIn profile’s “Experience Section” as an “Opinion Columnist.” and authority in the field.
On its own initiative, CEOWORLD magazine created on their website a library of Robert Adelson published articles. You can peruse this library and/or read as many of my 34 published articles as you wish. See https://ceoworld.biz/author/robert-adelson/
With more than 12.4+ million-page views, CEOWORLD magazine is the world’s leading business magazine written strictly for CEOs, CFOs, CIOs, senior management executives, business leaders, and high net worth individuals worldwide.
It is my hope that this article will be of benefit to CEOs, C-level and senior executives who, at some point in your career, might be at the point of receiving a major benefit in executive compensation, equity vesting or payout, only to be deprived or threatened with loss of that benefit earned, by employment termination without cause or reason or other arbitrary act by the employer. The goal of this article is to let you know that if that happens to you or a colleague of yours, there may be a basis to seek redress for your loss or potential loss. Feel free to share this article. If you or any colleague of yours has a need in this area, please do reach out to me.

One week ago, on Wednesday September 1, 2021, the website Ivy Exec published under “Business Strategy” an article I wrote on “Phantom Stock as Executive Compensation for Family Businesses.”

​This new article is designed not only for C-level and senior executives, but even for many directors and mid-level executives, who currently work in a family business or are offered a position in a family business and received NO executive equity compensation because most family businesses do not issue equity to non-family members.

My article discusses the use of phantom stock as a mean to give the executive a substitute to equal for him or her all the benefits of stock, options or RSUs. This technique also benefits the family business by not only avoiding use of actual stock and offering a key executive recruitment / retention tool but also providing a technique where all payments are tax deductible.
The technique is highly beneficial to CEOs and senior executives because it not only gives him or her a meaningful stake in the growth of the company, but also offers the possibility for capital gains level taxation, plus a liquidity feature often missing in stock plans of private companies.
To see my full IvyExec Career Advice website article, go to LINK: https://www.ivyexec.com/career-advice/2021/phantom-stock-as-executive-compensation-for-family-businesses/
Or https://www.executiveemploymentattorney.com/phantom-stock-as-executive-compensation-for-family-businesses/
IvyExec hosts articles and webinars from experts in the career, leadership, and business spaces who wish to share their knowledge with our audience. In April 2021, I was invited to write for IvyExec since it seeks original content on the topics of career development, leadership, and business strategy as it applies to senior-level and C-Suite professionals. IvyExec blog posts and webinars are shared with its community of more than 2 million members on its website, in its newsletter, and on its social media channels. https://www.ivyexec.com/career-advice/write-for-us/
It is my hope that this article will be of benefit to C-level and senior executives who have the opportunity or should have the opportunity to gain an equity stake in the family businesses that their management skills and efforts or helping to build, so that you along with the family owners can share in the benefits of that company growth.
Family business owners do have good reason to avoid taking on minority owners, but that does not mean you, as the non-family executive, need to be deprived of the kind of equity or equity-like stake you would receive in a non-family business. My article suggests a way to do this — to the benefit of the non-family executive and the family business owners too. Feel free to tweet or share this article. If you or any colleague of yours has a need in this area, please do reach out to me.