Former DirecTV CEO received compensation worth $1.4 million in 2009 for working partial year

Ex-DirecTV CEO compensation tops $1.4M in 2009

The former chief executive of DirecTV Inc. was awarded $1.4 million in compensation for working the first six months of 2009 before resigning to take another job, according to an Associated Press calculation.

But when Chase Carey left to become chief operating officer of News Corp., he also gave up millions of dollars worth of restricted stock awards and options, a condition in his employment agreement.

In 2008, Carey’s compensation at DirecTV, the nation’s largest satellite TV provider, totaled $6.2 million, about 4.5 times more than last year, according to the company’s filing Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Last year, Carey received a base salary of more than $1.2 million and other compensation worth about $100,000, including about $11,200 for DirecTV’s satellite TV service at home and retirement benefits of about $48,500.

Carey also exercised stock options valued at $9.7 million and withdrew a lump sum of $5.2 million from a company savings plan.

Larry Hunter, DirecTV’s general counsel and secretary, stepped in as interim CEO from July to December. Michael White was hired as CEO on Jan. 1, 2010.

Hunter received total compensation of nearly $5 million last year, including a base salary of nearly $900,000 and a performance-based cash bonus of $2.7 million. Hunter also received other compensation valued at about $186,000 — including retirement benefits worth about $144,000. And he received stock awards valued at $1.2 million.

DirecTV, which is based in El Segundo, Calif., merged with certain entertainment assets of Liberty Media Corp. and split off into a new company in November. Cable TV pioneer John Malone, chairman of Liberty, has a 2.7 percent stake in the new DirecTV but controls 24 percent of the votes.

The Associated Press formula is designed to isolate the value the company’s board placed on the executive’s total compensation package during the last fiscal year. It includes salary, bonus, performance-related bonuses, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year.

The calculations don’t include changes in the present value of pension benefits, making the AP total different in most cases than the total reported by companies to the SEC.