Safeway rewards CEO with $11.5 million package for 2006 while workers prepare to strike

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/04/04/financial/f143059D22.DTL&type=business

Safeway rewards CEO with $11.5 million package for 2006



By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Business Writer

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

(04-04) 14:30 PDT San Francisco (AP) --

Safeway Inc. rewarded its chief executive officer with a 2006 pay package valued at $11.5 million for leading the grocer to its highest profit in five years, according to an analysis of a regulatory filing.

Steve Burd, Safeway's CEO for the past 14 years, received $2.64 million in nonequity incentives to supplement a $1.33 million salary and $212,298 in perquisites, according to documents filed Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Most of Burd's perks covered his use of Safeway's corporate jet.

The biggest chunk of Burd's 2006 compensation consisted of stock and options awards valued at $7.28 million on the date of the grant. This included 500,000 shares of restricted stock, valued at $545,000, in Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc., a subsidiary that specializes in stocking the company's stores with gift cards from other merchants.

The Associated Press bases its executive pay totals on salary, bonus, incentives, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year. These calculations may differ from the figures listed by companies in their proxy statements.

Pleasanton-based Safeway has been on the upswing after struggling through several years of labor strife, bungled acquisitions and cutthroat competition with discount retailers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. that have been grabbing a larger piece of grocery sales.

The difficulties saddled Safeway with large losses and dragged down the company's stock price, provoking a 2004 revolt among a dissident group of shareholders that tried to oust Burd from Safeway's board.

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