SAN ANTONIO – Editor’s note: This story was published through a partnership between the San Antonio Business Journal and KSAT.
Oil refiner Valero Energy Corp.'s Joe Gorder tops the list of the San Antonio area's highest-paid public company CEOs for 2019.
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Gorder's total compensation for 2019 was $28.2 million, up from $18.8 million in 2018, according to a company filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That total includes multiple forms of compensation, including $1.7 million in salary, a $4.1 million bonus, $14.5 million in stock awards, a $7.5 million change in pension value and $384,999 in other compensation, according to Valero's recent proxy statement filed with the SEC.
The change in pension value is primarily due to fluctuations in interest rates and impact on discount rate and present value calculations, Valero (NYSE: VLO) spokeswoman Lillian Riojas said in an email. In 2018, Gorder's pension value increased by $1.35 million. Gorder's stock awards for 2019 were up by nearly $4.6 million, while his bonus in 2019 decreased by $525,000 from 2018, resulting in a reduction in cash compensation.
Riojas said that over 91% of Valero's shareholders approved the company's executive pay and that those who didn't "were primarily European investors who prefer or follow the European compensation model." And she said third-party rating agencies, such as Equillar, consider Valero's executive compensation as well aligned with shareholders' interests.
San Antonio-based Valero reported net income of $2.4 billion for 2019, down $700 million from 2018, according to recent filings.
Coming in fourth on the list is Victory Capital Holdings Inc. CEO David Brown, a relative newcomer to San Antonio. The global investment management firm moved its headquarters to San Antonio from Cleveland late last year.
Victory Capital (Nasdaq: VCTR) generated $204 million in revenue during first quarter 2020, up 134% from $87 million in the same period last year, according to a recent filing. Its net income for the quarter was $73.9 million, up from $19.3 million last year. This is due mostly to an increase in the average amount of assets under management after the company bought USAA Asset Management Co. last summer for $850 million.
Just recently, the company announced its plan to buy back $15 million in shares.