GM Chief Executive Mary Barra Earned $16.2 Million in 2014

By John D. Stoll 

General Motors Co. Chief Executive Mary Barra earned $16.2 million in a choppy first year at the helm, a pay package that far outpaces her predecessor's compensation and exceeds the initial target set by the board when she took the job.

The Detroit auto maker's 2014 executive compensation plans, outlined in an annual proxy report filed Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, represent a shifting compensation strategy. No longer restricted by Treasury Department pay guidelines, GM now has liberty to use the promise of bigger paydays to reward, retain and motivate top managers.

Ms. Barra, 53, earned 80% more than the $9 million package paid to former CEO Dan Akerson in 2013, even though her $1.6 million base salary is slightly lower than the $1.7 million base Mr. Akerson was paid.

Since taking over in January 2014, she has been managing an ignition-switch safety crisis that overshadowed her initial months in office.

Vehicle recall costs of $2.8 billion hurt Ms. Barra's overall compensation, and the packages earned by other top executives. Without those costs, GM would have achieved its goals for core business operations, the company said.

GM initially set Ms. Barra's compensation target at $14.4 million. Pension changes, executive perks (such as private air travel or financial counseling) and the value of previously promised restricted stock are factors that led to the 12.5% extra in compensation.

While her appointment as Detroit's first female auto chief was celebrated, Ms. Barra had no time to do a victory lap. The company's safety problems came to light in early 2014 and were emblematic of an operating culture that shirked responsibility and didn't take decisive action, even after GM's 2009 bankruptcy.

GM was bailed out by the Troubled Asset Relief Program in 2009, and has for several years been restricted by compensation rules. The government's sale of its equity ended an era of TARP oversight.

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