Which Compensation Consultants Public Companies Use in 2024
Introduction
Compensation consultants play a crucial role in advising public companies on executive compensation design, market benchmarking, and regulatory compliance. This analysis examines which consulting firms are engaged by public companies to provide compensation advisory services, based on disclosures in 2024 DEF14A proxy statements.
The data reveals market concentration among leading compensation consulting firms and provides insights into the competitive landscape of executive compensation advisory services.
Ticker | Compensation Consultant | Details |
---|---|---|
A | Semler Brossy | Agilent uses Semler Brossy as their independent compensation consultant. Semler Brossy advises the Compensation Committee on several compensation matters including criteria used to identify peer companies for executive compensation and performance metrics, evaluation of total direct compensation levels and mix for the Named Executive Officers (NEOs) and other senior officers, mix of long-term incentives, grant types and allocation of equity awards, review of short- and long-term incentive programs, market trends and governance practices, and support for stockholder outreach campaigns. |
AA | Pay Governance | Alcoa Corporation uses Pay Governance as their independent compensation consultant. Pay Governance was directly retained by the Compensation and Benefits Committee in 2023 to provide advice on executive compensation market practices, trends, developments, benchmarking data, and reviewing compensation arrangements for executives. They also advised the Governance and Nominating Committee regarding non-employee director compensation. |
AAL | Korn Ferry | American Airlines Group Inc. uses Korn Ferry as their independent compensation consultant. Korn Ferry assisted the Compensation Committee in determining executive compensation and reviewing and analyzing proposed compensation programs for executive officers for 2023. |
AAON | Meridian Compensation | AAON uses Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC as their independent compensation consultant. Meridian was retained by the Compensation Committee to serve as an independent consultant, providing information and objective advice regarding executive and outside director compensation. The firm performed valuations of AAON's performance share units (PSUs) and advised the Compensation Committee on matters within its scope of duties. Meridian does not provide any other services to AAON, and the Compensation Committee has determined that no conflicts of interest exist as a result of this engagement. The Committee evaluates the consultant annually and has the authority to hire and terminate the consultant. |
AAPL | Pay Governance | Apple uses Pay Governance LLC as their independent compensation consultant. The firm is retained directly by the People and Compensation Committee, which annually reviews the consultant's performance. Pay Governance provides independent advice and performs no services for Apple other than those for the People and Compensation Committee. The consultant works with Apple’s management only on matters for which the People and Compensation Committee is responsible. Pay Governance regularly attends the committee meetings and communicates with its members outside of these meetings regarding matters related to the committee's responsibilities. |
ABBV | Semler Brossy | AbbVie uses Semler Brossy as their independent compensation consultant. The firm provides independent counsel and advice to the compensation committee on executive and non-employee director compensation matters. |
ABCB | FW Cook | Ameris Bancorp uses Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc. (FW Cook) as their independent compensation consultant. They advise on matters such as compensation program design, benchmarking compensation, and relative pay for performance, provide market data, analyses, and advice regarding the compensation of named executive officers, other executive officers, and non-employee directors, and attend Compensation Committee meetings regularly. |
ABG | Pay Governance | Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (ABG) uses Pay Governance LLC as their independent compensation consultant. The firm was retained by the Compensation & Human Resources Committee to provide independent advice on executive compensation matters. |
ABM | Pay Governance | ABM Industries Incorporated uses Pay Governance as their independent compensation consultant. Pay Governance advises the Compensation Committee on various executive compensation matters, including attending Committee meetings, assessing the Compensation Comparator Group, evaluating pay-for-performance alignment, reviewing targeted pay levels and the mix of principal compensation components, advising on annual and long-term incentive design, and updating the Committee on emerging trends and best practices in executive compensation. |
ABNB | Semler Brossy | Airbnb uses Semler Brossy as their independent compensation consultant. The firm provides guidance to Airbnb's leadership development, belonging, and compensation committee regarding the amount and types of compensation provided to executives, comparisons to peer companies, and other compensation-related matters. Semler Brossy reports directly to the committee and does not provide any other services to Airbnb. The committee has evaluated Semler Brossy's independence and determined that the firm does not have any conflicts of interest in advising them. |
ABT | Meridian Compensation | Abbott Laboratories uses Meridian Compensation as their independent compensation consultant. Meridian provides counsel and advice on executive and non-employee director compensation matters. The consultant and its principal report directly to the Chair of the Compensation Committee. The principal meets regularly and as needed with the Committee in executive sessions, has direct access to the Chair during and between meetings, and performs no other services for Abbott or its senior executives. |
ACA | Pay Governance | Arcosa, Inc. uses Pay Governance LLC as their independent compensation consultant. The firm provided executive compensation consulting services including reviewing and assisting in the design of executive compensation programs, providing insight into executive compensation practices, benchmarking executive compensation pay levels, providing proxy disclosure information, and offering input on risk assessment, structure, and overall competitiveness of Arcosa's executive compensation programs. |
ACAD | FW Cook | Acadia Pharmaceuticals engaged Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc. (FW Cook) as their compensation consultant for 2023. FW Cook assisted the Compensation Committee in evaluating and refining the executive compensation strategy, developing an executive compensation program aligned with long-term strategic goals, designing performance-based options, reviewing the comparator group, and performing analyses. |
ACGL | Meridian Compensation | Arch Capital Group Ltd. uses Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC as their independent executive compensation consultant. Meridian assisted the Compensation and Human Capital Committee in establishing compensation policies and programs, including reviewing and advising on CEO and NEO compensation, reporting on program design, assessing the peer group, reporting on trends, preparing presentations, reviewing benchmarking analysis, and reviewing director compensation during 2023. |
ACI | FW Cook | Albertsons Companies uses Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc. (FW Cook) as their independent compensation consultant. Their role includes evaluating the competitiveness of the design of the Company’s executive compensation program, reviewing the competitiveness of the compensation of Named Executive Officers (NEOs), evaluating market pay data, and providing analyses and inputs on program structure, performance measures, and goals. They do not perform other services for the Company and meet with the Compensation Committee in executive sessions outside the presence of management. |
ACIW | Compensia, FW Cook | ACI Worldwide uses Compensia, Inc. as their independent compensation consultant. Compensia, Inc. is a national independent compensation consulting firm engaged by the Compensation Committee to assist by providing information, analysis, and other advice relating to ACI Worldwide's executive compensation program and decisions resulting from its annual executive compensation review. Compensia reported directly to the Compensation Committee and provided no other services to the company at the time of selection. |
ACM | Exequity | AECOM uses Exequity LLP as their independent compensation consultant. The firm provides independent consulting services exclusively to the Compensation Committee of AECOM's Board of Directors, assisting with data on compensation and relative performance of peer group companies, making presentations on regulatory and legislative matters, advising on the consistency of compensation arrangements with market practices, and consulting on other executive compensation matters as needed. |
ACN | Pay Governance | Accenture uses Pay Governance LLC as their independent compensation consultant. Pay Governance advises the Compensation, Culture & People Committee on general marketplace trends in executive compensation, proposes executive compensation programs, recommends peer companies for competitive market analyses, and advises on compensation for the chair, chief executive officer, and executive committee members. They also provide input for the annual review of director compensation and do not provide any other services to Accenture or its affiliates. |
ACT | FW Cook | ACT uses FW Cook as their independent compensation consultant. The firm was retained by the Compensation Committee and provided advice, conducted special studies, assessed market trends, and educated the committee. |
ADBE | Compensia, FW Cook | Adobe uses Compensia, Inc. as their independent compensation consultant. The firm provides advice and recommendations on various aspects of Adobe's executive compensation programs, including reviewing and recommending updates to the peer group, conducting a comprehensive review of total compensation arrangements for executive officers, advising on executive compensation, assisting with the design of executive incentive programs, and providing updates on regulatory developments and emerging trends. |
Analysis
The compensation consulting market shows significant concentration among a few leading firms. Major players include FW Cook, Compensia, Semler Brossy, Pay Governance, and Pearl Meyer, which collectively serve a substantial portion of public companies requiring compensation advisory services.
Some companies choose not to disclose their compensation consultant relationships, while others engage multiple firms for specialized services. The choice of compensation consultant can reflect company size, industry focus, and specific advisory needs.
This data is extracted from 2024 DEF14A proxy statements using Fintool's AI-powered analysis, providing comprehensive insights into the compensation consulting landscape and firm market positions.