Autodesk 2010 Annual Report Download - page 37

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Compensation Discussion and Analysis
Compensation Objective
Our compensation objectives are to reward our executive officers for the achievement of the Company’s
strategic and financial goals and individual performance that ultimately enhance stockholder value and to
effectively attract, retain and motivate the caliber of executive officer who can meaningfully contribute to the
success of our Company and demonstrate leadership for our employees. These objectives guide the decisions of
the Compensation and Human Resources Committee of the Board of Directors (the “Compensation Committee”)
regarding compensation for our executive officers.
In practice, we seek to link compensation to performance and to the long-term interests of our stockholders
by:
• ensuring that our executive team has clear goals and accountability with respect to financial and
nonfinancial corporate performance;
• establishing compensation opportunities that are competitively based on prevailing practices for the
industry, the stage of our growth, and the dynamic and challenging technology labor markets in which
we operate;
• assessing performance against individual goals within the context of accomplishing certain key metrics
of our overall operating results;
• utilizing a combination of plans that provide a balance of short and long-term incentives, mitigating
potential risk-taking by any one executive; and
• using equity incentive plans, which reward long-term increases in the value of our stock, to align the
interests of our executive officers and our stockholders.
Named Executive Officers
Throughout this proxy statement, the individuals included in the Summary Compensation Table on page 46
are referred to as our “Named Executive Officers.” For fiscal 2010, our Named Executive Officers were: Carl
Bass, Chief Executive Officer and President; Mark J. Hawkins, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer; George M. Bado, Executive Vice President, Sales and Services; Jay Bhatt, Senior Vice President,
Architecture, Engineering and Construction; and Robert L. Kross, Senior Vice President, Manufacturing. On
April 27, 2009, Mark J. Hawkins became Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Company,
and Mr. Bass resigned from his position as Interim Chief Financial Officer of the Company. The information in
this discussion provides perspective and narrative analysis relating to, and should be read along with, the
executive compensation tables and discussion contained below, beginning on page 44.
Summary of Executive Compensation Decisions in Fiscal 2010
As a result of the challenging economic and market environment in fiscal 2010 and the overall negative
impact on the Company’s business and financial results, the Compensation Committee took several steps with
respect to the compensation of our Named Executive Officers:
•No Increases in Base Salary. Based on a consideration of a number of factors, including the general
state of the economy and our performance, the base salaries of our executive officers were not
increased in fiscal 2010.
•Temporary Base Salary Reductions. Each of our executive officers’ base salaries were temporarily
reduced by 10% beginning in February 2009. The salary reduction was removed effective December
2009.
•EIP Payouts Below Target Amounts. Payouts under our EIP were below target amounts in fiscal 2010
due to the Company’s financial performance.
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