Firm's CEO was paid $17M in '05

4/8/2006

The leader of Toledo's Manor Care Inc., the nation's largest nursing home operator, received $17 million in compensation last year, apparently topping all area executives.

Paul Ormond, chairman and chief executive of the downtown firm, made the equivalent of $65,400 a weekday.

The pay was an increase from the previous year's $11.5 million, even though his company's profit was down slightly to $161 million. Sales for the year rose to $3.2 billion.

The figures were disclosed in Manor Care's filing yesterday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and are included in the firm's proxy to be sent to shareholders.

Not all firms with publicly traded stock in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan disclose their executive's compensation, but Mr. Ormond is typically among the top-paid local business leaders.

His compensation consisted of a salary of $961,000, a bonus of $1.8 million, restricted stock awards valued at $3.3 million, a profit of $9.7 million from the exercise of options on 570,000 shares of stock, and $507,000 in other compensation, which included personal use of company aircraft, life insurance, and reimbursement for taxes.

Also included were long-term incentive payouts of $774,000, money which he received or was able to defer.

Company officials were not available for comment. But the firm's SEC filing said the board's compensation committee set executive pay based on peer reviews in the health-care industry, performance evaluations, incentive goals, and "enhancement of stockholder value over the long term."

The firm's stock has done well in recent years, climbing from about $20 five years ago to more than $42 yesterday.

The company ranks No. 552 among the Fortune 1,000 firms.

Mr. Ormond's pay, while higher than that received by the CEO of Ford Motor Co. last year, is not personally unprecedented. He had $16 million in compensation in 2003, but his record, and that for any area executive, was in 2001 when he received $28 million. Each time, stock options led to the higher figures.

The company also reported total compensation of $11 million to M. Keith Weikel, a senior executive vice president and chief operating officer.