CenturyLink 2015 Annual Report Download - page 53

Summary of 2015 Compensation for our Named Executive Officers
Two of the core principles of our compensation philosophy are to offer competitive compensation to our
named executive officers at the 50th percentile of market levels with an appropriate mix of fixed and variable
compensation.
Our 2015 annual incentive bonus target percentages and the total fair value of our 2015 equity grants for our
executive officers were based on these principles.
Each element of our 2015 compensation is discussed further below in this Subsection under the headings
“— Salary,” “— Short-Term Incentive Bonuses” and “— Long-Term Equity Incentive Compensation.” In each
case, more information on how we determined specific pay levels is located in Subsection IV under the heading
“— Our Compensation Decision-Making Process.” Compensation paid to Ms. Puckett, whose employment ended
on August 31, 2015, is discussed further below in this Subsection under the heading “— Compensation Paid to
our Former Executive Officer.”
Salary
General. Early each year, the Committee takes a number of steps in connection with setting annual salaries,
including reviewing compensation tally sheets and benchmarking data, discussing with the CEO each senior
officer’s pay and performance relative to other senior officers, and considering when the officer last received a
pay increase. More information on how we determined specific pay levels is located under the heading “— Our
Compensation Decision-Making Process” in Subsection IV below.
In November 2014, the Committee approved a 13.6% increase to Mr. Post’s salary to $1,250,000, which
became effective on January 1, 2015. This increase was the result of the Committee’s recognition of Mr. Post’s
overall leadership and performance demonstrated in 2014 and acknowledgment of his role in the execution of our
business strategy, as well as the Committee’s review of compensation benchmarking data. See the further
discussion under the heading “— Use of ‘Benchmarking’ Data — Performance Benchmarking” in Subsection IV
below. In February 2016, the Committee awarded salary increases ranging from 2.5% to 3.0% for Ms. Puckett,
Mr. Ewing and Mr. Goff, and left unchanged the salary of Mr. Hussain.
Recent Actions. In February 2016, the Committee awarded a salary increase of 5.3% to Mr. Hussain in
recognition of Mr. Hussain’s performance demonstrated in 2015 in addition to the Committee’s review of
compensation benchmarking data. See further discussion under the heading “— Use of ‘Benchmarking’ Data —
Performance Benchmarking” in Subsection IV below. The Committee left the salaries unchanged for Messrs.
Post, Ewing, Goff and Cole.
Short-Term Incentive Bonuses
General. With the assistance of management and its compensation consultant, the Compensation Committee
sets STI bonus targets annually, and, under special circumstances, more frequently than annually. Annually in the
first quarter, the Committee approves (i) the performance objectives for prospective bonuses, (ii) the “threshold,”
“target” and “maximum” threshold levels of performance, (iii) the weighting of the performance objectives,
(iv) the amount of bonus payable if the target level of performance is attained and (v) the finally determined
amount of bonus payments attributable to performance for the prior year.
Effective January 1, 2015, the Committee increased Mr. Post’s STI percentage target bonus from 150% to
175% of salary for the reasons noted above under the heading “— Salary — General.” In February 2015, the
Committee determined that each named executive’s then-prevailing STI bonus target continued to be generally
within an acceptable range of targeting an STI bonus opportunity at the 50th percentile for peers in similarly
situated positions based on data compiled by its compensation consultant.
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