CEO Compensation – Nortel

I was perusing the list of highest paid CEOs in Canada on this site, and the likely suspects were all there – Precision Drilling, Talisman Energy, CNR. What I found odd was the fact that Mike Zafirovski or Nortel was number 3 for 2005 with a whopping $37,429,297 for the year. Correct me if I am wrong, but did the company not need to restate earnings a couple of time, delay filing, and have abysmal stock performance for the year?

If you drill down a bit more, you will see that there is an “other” payment of $28,698,591 that represents money to settle a lawsuit with a former employer. What the fu@$!! You are telling me that Nortel shareholders are paying for lawsuits brought on by Motorola for breech of contract and the like. That is ridiculous. This company never ceases to amaze me and it is continued actions like this that will never make me a Nortel shareowner.