For the past couple of months at Tim Hortons Inc. THI-T, Paul House has been doing the CEO work previously done by Donald Schroeder. Now, the company’s board has decided Mr. House should get Mr. Schroeder’s pay cheque as well.
Tims said in a U.S. securities filing that Mr. House will receive a raise to $750,000 a year, retroactive to his May 24 start date; he had previously been earning $300,000 annually.
He will also be eligible for a bonus of up to $1.5-million if Tims exceeds its maximum profit targets, and has been given stock awards worth $1.8-million, the majority of which he’ll forfeit if the company’s performance goals are not met. Both the bonus and the stock awards will be pro-rated to reflect the amount of time he serves as chief executive officer this year.
Mr. House had been serving as the company’s executive chairman after a previous stint as CEO. He stepped back into the CEO role in May on Mr. Schroeder’s unexpected departure.
Tim Hortons says in the filing that its board “determined that for so long as Mr. House is serving as president and CEO, his compensation should be substantially similar to the compensation that [Mr. Schroeder] received as president and CEO prior to his departure from the corporation.”
The filing suggests, however, that Mr. House’s role remains temporary, referring to “the expected short-term nature of [his] current tenure.”
Mr. House will get $1-million in performance-based restricted stock units next year if Tims hits an undisclosed target for operating income. He must hold the stock, unable to sell it, for 30 months, per the company’s stock plan.
He will also receive $800,000 in stock next year that vests, or becomes sellable, in three equal instalments over the succeeding 30 months.
Special to The Globe and Mail
