Is Mel Karmazin 'One Of The Most Underpaid Executives In The History Of Executive Payment?'

Mel Karmazin

FORBES is set to publish an in-depth interview with SIRIUS XM CEO MEL KARMAZIN that's certain to ruffle more than a few feathers.

Writes JEFF BERCOVICI, "MEL KARMAZIN doesn’t do understatement. Perched at the head of a conference table in SIRIUS XM RADIO's glassy MANHATTAN headquarters, sporting a red power tie and a sepia perma-tan that offsets his snowy hair, KARMAZIN considers, just for a moment, the question of whether the satellite broadcasting giant and its shareholders have been overly generous with their CEO during his seven years on the job."

"I think I’m one of the most underpaid executives in the history of executive payment," KARMAZIN told FORBES.

BERCOVICI doesn't agree. He writes, "Huh? KARMAZIN has earned more than $37 million since he took the job in NOVEMBER 2004 and stands to clear another $125 million or so next month with a planned exercise of stock options. Meanwhile, the stock has gone from about $9 shortly after he took over, before its merger with XM, to its recent hovering in the low $2 range. His disastrous six-year performance locks KARMAZIN in the basement of our annual bang-for-the-buck CEO rankings at number 197 out of 206."

Bt KARMAZIN defends his record, saying "When I joined, the revenue was about the size of a NEW YORK radio station. We are TODAY the largest radio company in the world."

Read the full article here.

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