President Barack Obama and his advisers are taking a hands-off approach to the review of pay packages at companies receiving taxpayer aid, a senior adviser said, leaving the politically sensitive task of dealing with the fallout to Kenneth Feinberg, the administration’s special master on executive pay. Companies including American International Group and Citigroup last week submitted executive-pay proposals to Feinberg, for a 60-day review, reports Bloomberg. Obama hasn’t been briefed on the plans and neither he nor any of his White House aides will be involved in Feinberg’s decision making, said Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett. “There is no micromanagement by the White House in this at all,” said Jarrett, Obama’s chief liaison to the business community. “The president has explicitly said he doesn’t want that, he wants Ken to do this on his own. The expectation is that Ken will do his own independent assessment,” Jarrett said. “His charge is to really balance retaining talent, aligning compensation appropriately with performance and making sure that we protect our investment.”
Obama Adopts Hands-Off Policy on Citi, AIG Pay
The Obama administration has left executive pay worries to Kenneth Feinberg.
August 21, 2009