MILAN (Bloomberg) -- Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne received a compensation package totaling 14.5 million euros ($19 million) in 2011, mostly in stock grants.
The payment included a salary of 2.45 million euros from the Italian carmaker, according to a filing released Thursday. Additionally, he received stock-related compensation with a "fair value" of 12.01 million euros, Fiat said.
"Marchionne's salary is in line with the industry's top managers, and he shares company's risk with the stock payment," said Giuliano Noci, a marketing professor at Milan Polytechnic. "Industrywide speaking, the difference between top managers' salary and workers is impressive."
Last year, Marchionne didn't receive any compensation from Chrysler, where he is chairman and CEO. He is also chairman of Fiat Industrial S.p.A., a truckmaking unit Fiat spun off last year. His salary from Fiat Industrial hasn't been disclosed yet.
Ford, VW, GM
Ford awarded CEO Alan Mulally $58.3 million in stock as a reward for the automaker's turnaround in 2011, while Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn, who led the world's second-largest carmaker to a record profit last year, earned 17.5 million euros to top the rankings as best-paid CEO in the German benchmark DAX Index.
General Motors CEO Dan Akerson, whose pay must be approved by the Obama administration's special pay master, said Jan. 10 that he won't get a cash bonus for 2011, the year the company earned a record profit and again became the world's largest automaker.
Akerson, who served as CEO for four months in 2010, received $2.53 million in total compensation for that year, GM said in a proxy statement last year.
Fiat awarded Marchionne stock grants to receive 7 million shares, the carmaker said Feb. 22. They can be exercised from 2012 to 2015. Marchionne will receive one third of the shares every year if he remains CEO of the Italian carmaker. The final payment will be made Feb. 22, 2015 if Marchionne is still in his post.
