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Outback's new leader gets a golden welcome
Among the goodies CEO Bill Allen will receive is a $2-million signing bonus, an unusual move for Outback.
By SCOTT BARANCIK
Published March 12, 2005
Bill Allen, who replaced Chris Sullivan as CEO of Outback Steakhouse this week, has some very big shoes to fill.
Now he has a big paycheck to match.
The Tampa company disclosed Friday that it expects to pay Allen a base salary of $750,000, an annual bonus of up to $1-million and 450,000 shares of restricted stock, according to draft provisions of a 10-year contract.
On May 1, Outback will hand Allen the corporate equivalent of a gilded welcome basket: a $2-million signing bonus.
By contrast, president Paul Avery, who took on the added title of chief operating officer this week from co-founder Bob Basham, probably will not get a significant raise beyond his base salary of $600,000. "The Company and Mr. Avery intend to enter into an employment agreement on terms substantially similar to Mr. Avery's existing employment agreement," Outback said in a filing submitted to securities regulators Friday.
Under his contract, Avery is eligible for annual bonuses up to $2-million. His 2003 compensation package - including salary of $546,317, an $800,000 bonus and options to buy 300,000 shares of Outback stock - was easily the company's largest.
Allen, 45, joined Outback in 1999 and previously served as president of its Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar chain. As of 2003, he was not among the company's five best-compensated executives.
Most companies use signing bonuses to attract outside talent. To help recruit former Drugstore.com CEO Kal Raman last year, for example, Amazon.com agreed to pay him a $300,000 signing bonus.
The payment of a large signing bonus to Allen, an internal hire, could suggest he was being heavily recruited by competitors.
A search of Outback's public filings for the phrase "signing bonus" showed no previous usage since 1991, when the company went public.
Attempts to reach Outback officials for comment late Friday afternoon were unsuccessful.
Scott Barancik can be reached at 727 893-8751 or barancik@sptimes.com
[Last modified March 12, 2005, 00:48:09]
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