Charter Communications CEO Tom Rutledge received $5.3
million in total compensation in 2012, but he wasn't the most highly
compensated executive at the Stamford, Conn.-based MSO. That distinction
belongs to another former Cablevision executive -- chief operating officer John
Bickham.
Bickham, who joined
Charter on April 30, 2012, received a total of $19.8 million in total
compensation in 2012, according to a proxy statement filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission March 21.
Bickham, a 27-year veteran of the cable industry and
Rutledge's former No. 2 at Cablevision and Time Warner Cable, received an
annual salary of $872,597, according to the proxy. But the well-respected
Bickham reaped a big payday in other compensation -- according to the proxy he
received $12.7 million in stock awards and $4.8 million in option awards.
Bickham also received $1.3 million in non-equity incentive plan compensation.
Rutledge, who received a salary of $1.8 million and
non-equity incentive plan compensation of $3.3 million, according to the proxy,
left
Cablevision in December 2011 and joined
Charter later that month. He officially began as CEO at Charter in February
2012 and in later months snapped up several other departing Cablevision
executives, including Bickham, former executive vice president of consumer
operations Kathleen
Mayo and former executive vice president of corporate engineering and
technology James
Blackley. According to the proxy statement, Mayo, now executive vice
president of operations for Charter, received $5.3 million in total 2012
compensation, Blackley, now Charter's executive vice president, information and
engineering, received $4.9 million in 2012 compensation.
