Semiconductor Board Comp Balloons in 2005

According to a recent survey by San Francisco-based Presidio Pay Advisors, Inc., directors who served on board committees received the largest pay increases, with Compensation Committee chairmen almost doubling their cash pay from the previous year and Audit Committee chairmen earning 50% more cash. A Presidio news release said that with heightened scrutiny of corporate governance in recent years, greater demands are being placed on directors and compensation levels have adjusted to reflect the additional responsibilities.

The survey, that also covers executive pay and equity compensation, analyzed pay packages for non-employee directors, chairmen of the board and board committee service in 97 companies in the semiconductor industry.

According to the announcement, the survey also found that:

• five times as many companies granted restricted stock to outside directors in 2005 compared to the prior year, while stock option grants remained steady.
• the prevalence of annual retainers for board service jumped 25% and the median retainer increased from $16,000 to $20,000. The number of companies paying additional annual retainers to audit and compensation committee members increased by 50% and 70% respectively.
• chairmen of the board saw only a 5% increase in their cash compensation and no change in their stock option grant levels.

More information about the company is at http://www.presidiopay.com .