Joseph Bachelder III
Joseph Bachelder III | |
---|---|
Born | Joseph Elmer Bachelder III November 13, 1932 Fulton, Missouri, U.S. |
Died | December 13, 2020 Princeton, New Jersey, U.S. | (aged 88)
Alma mater |
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Known for | Engineering the golden parachute executive compensation structure |
Spouse | Louise Mason |
Children | 3 |
Joseph Elmer Bachelder III (November 13, 1932 – December 13, 2020) was an American lawyer noted for designing executive compensation packages including the
Early life
Joseph Elmer Bachelder III was born in Fulton, Missouri, to Frances Gray and Joseph Bachelder Jr. His father was a sociology professor and a political analyst, while his mother was a painter and homemaker.[1] Bachelder's interest in statistics was attributed to his father's influence. His father was famously one of the few pollsters who had predicted Harry S. Truman's victory in the 1948 United States presidential election.[1] His father also had Richard Nixon as his client.[2]
Bachelder graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy, an independent school in Exeter, New Hampshire, and went on to graduate from Yale University with a degree in political science in 1955. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1958.[1]
Career
Bachelder started his career in the 1960s practicing tax law after graduating from Harvard Law School, working with many New York-based tax law firms before setting up his own company in 1980 and moving over to working on executive compensation.[1][2]
He had a statistical approach to structuring executive compensation packages, employing quantitative analysts and finance experts with
Some of the corporate executives represented by him included
He shut down his firm in 2012 and went on to join
Views on executive compensation
Bachelder maintained that the market for the best executives was a highly competitive one and the best executives were like professional athletes in that they were in short supply, and their job security was limited, hence they had to maximize their compensations in the period of time that they were at the top.
In one of his last articles before his death, on the impact of COVID-19 on executive pay, he argued that companies should consider the effects of any compensation reductions on executive morale and through that on company performance, and should adopt plans to restore the same when companies emerge from the financial setbacks caused by the pandemic.[5][6]
Personal life
Bachelder met his future wife, Louise Mason, when he was studying at Yale University. She was the daughter of a law professor. The couple were married in 1955.[2] They went on to have three daughters. He was a hobby tennis player and in his youth, gave tennis lessons at Yale University and Princeton University including to his future wife. Bachelder died from cancer on December 13, 2020, at his home in Princeton, New Jersey. He was aged 88.[1]
References
- ^ from the original on December 29, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ from the original on December 28, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- from the original on December 29, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ from the original on December 29, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ June 18, Joseph E. Bachelder III |; PM, 2020 at 12:30. "COVID-19 and Executive Pay". New York Law Journal. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
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: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ September 28, Joseph E. Bachelder III |; PM, 2020 at 02:00. "Another Look at the Impact of the Pandemic on Executive Pay". New York Law Journal. Archived from the original on December 29, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
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: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)