BellSouth's big chief is going to make a pile.

Phil Harvey, Editor-in-Chief

March 6, 2006

1 Min Read
Duane's Dollars Days

8:00 AM -- BellSouth's big chief is going to make a pile.

Last year, SEC filings show, BellSouth CEO Duane Ackerman pulled in $1.36 million in salary, $2.23 million in bonuses, and about $80,000 in "other" compensation (aircraft and car allowances, etc.).

After a $3.4 million year, Ackerman has an even bigger pile to look forward to if BellSouth's merger with AT&T goes through as announced. According to SEC filings:

In such event, in their current positions, each of Messrs. Ackerman, Feidler, Anderson and Dramis would receive payment of an amount equal to three times his annual base pay plus three times his standard annual bonus, plus an immediate cash-out of his bonus for the year of termination.

So, conservatively, Ackerman's looking at a nearly $11 million payout, not including his cash-out bonus amount, which wasn't disclosed. It's always best to have these figures in mind before the M&A-related job cuts start in earnest…

— Phil Harvey, Headcount Editor, Light Reading

About the Author(s)

Phil Harvey

Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading

Phil Harvey has been a Light Reading writer and editor for more than 18 years combined. He began his second tour as the site's chief editor in April 2020.

His interest in speed and scale means he often covers optical networking and the foundational technologies powering the modern Internet.

Harvey covered networking, Internet infrastructure and dot-com mania in the late 90s for Silicon Valley magazines like UPSIDE and Red Herring before joining Light Reading (for the first time) in late 2000.

After moving to the Republic of Texas, Harvey spent eight years as a contributing tech writer for D CEO magazine, producing columns about tech advances in everything from supercomputing to cellphone recycling.

Harvey is an avid photographer and camera collector – if you accept that compulsive shopping and "collecting" are the same.

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