Salaries To Signing Bonuses: 5 Things To Know About How Dell Technologies Is Paying Top Execs

Bonus Round

Dell Technologies Chairman and CEO Michael Dell may have engineered the biggest deal in IT industry history with the blockbuster, $58 billion acquisition of EMC, but the feat didn't get him a raise, or even a bonus during the company's most recent fiscal year.

Dell Technologies' 2017 fiscal year ended Feb. 3, and a recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing details how top execs were paid. The filing breaks down pay packages for the company's five highest-paid executives, including Dell, CFO Tom Sweet, infrastructure chief David Goulden, marketing head Jeremy Burton and Howard Elias, head of services and IT.

EMC veterans Goulden, Burton and Elias all received huge stock and option awards connected to the acquisition, and those payments put their pay packages well beyond those of other top executives, although their base salaries seem to be in line with the likes of Vice Chairman Jeff Clarke and President and Chief Commercial Officer Marius Haas.

Michael Dell Didn't Get A Raise, Or A Bonus

The second half of Chairman and CEO Michael Dell's fiscal year was consumed with the integration of Dell and EMC after the acquisition, which closed Sept. 7. Dell continued to take a salary of $950,000, the same regular pay he's drawn for the last three years. And while he didn't take any stock awards, option awards, or a bonus, per se, in fiscal 2017, he did get nearly $2.4 million as part of a non-equity incentive plan. The prior year, Dell received a $1.4 million bonus, but nothing in the non-equity incentives. The result is a pay package that has remained flat.

David Goulden Becomes Company's Second-Highest-Paid Exec

Infrastructure Solutions President David Goulden is Dell Technologies second-highest paid employee, according to the filing. His annual salary is $850,000, and he pulled down $359,615 of that between September and February on his way to banking a pay package totaling $24.9 million. He has an annual bonus opportunity that allows him to double his annual salary, as well as a "special bonus incentive opportunity" worth at least $3 million. Goulden's salary is the same as it was in his last full year at EMC, but like other top execs, Goulden negotiated a signing bonus. His is worth $8 million paid over three years. As part of the acquisition, Goulden took about $21 million in stock awards and about $2.5 million in equity awards. Goulden was with EMC for more than 10 years and took leadership of its EMC Information Infrastructure division in 2014.

Jeremy Burton's Salary Remains Flat, But Bonuses Abound

Executive Vice President Marketing and Corporate Development Jeremy Burton's base salary of $800,000 is unchanged from his final full year at EMC. Between September and February, Burton earned $338,462 in salary as part of a pay package that totaled about $13.4 million. Burton is eligible for an annual bonus that could double his regular salary, as well as a special bonus incentive worth at least $1 million. Burton's signing bonus totals $5 million payable over three years. Burton joined EMC in 2010 after a stint as president and CEO of Serena Software. He also held executive positions at Symantec, Veritas and Oracle. Burton took about $10.7 million in stock awards and about $1.8 in option awards as part of the closing of the acquisition. Dell Technologies also paid $60,000 in relocation expenses for Burton, as well as a $74,000 tax gross-up related to relocation expenses.

Howard Elias Gets A Raise

Global Services and IT President Howard Elias' base salary is $800,000, a bump from the $781,923 he made in his last full year at EMC. Elias made a Sept.-Feb. salary identical to Burton's and a pay package for that period totaling $13.1 million. Like Burton, Elias is eligible beginning this year for an annual bonus that could as much as double his salary, as well as a special bonus incentive worth at least $1 million. Elias' signing bonus is also $5 million payable over three years. Elias joined EMC in 2003, and ran the integration of Dell and EMC along with Rory Read before being made services and IT president a little more than a year ago. He took $10.7 million in stock awards and about $1.7 million in option awards as part of the closing of the acquisition.

CFO Tom Sweet Gets A Salary Bump

When Dell acquired EMC, it had room for only one CFO, and it was EMC CFO Zane Rowe who had to go. For the 2017 fiscal year, longtime Dell CFO Tom Sweet's pay packaged totaled $3.9 million, including a salary bump to $686,539 from $650,000 the previous year. Sweet also got a little over $1 million in non-equity incentive compensation. Sweet's responsibilities include financial planning and analysis, the company's tax accounting, treasury and investor relations. He's also responsible for Dell corporate strategy and development.