Obama taps Feinberg as special master on executive pay
Alumnus Kenneth Feinberg, who oversaw the federal compensation fund for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, was named June 10 as the Obama administration’s “special master” on executive pay at seven companies that have received government financial assistance.
At a White House briefing, press secretary Robert Gibbs said Feinberg “is an individual that has great experience in mediation.”
The Washington lawyer has been involved for many years in mediating intricate compensation cases. In addition to heading the Sept. 11 compensation fund, Feinberg was appointed by federal judges to resolve a number of high profile product liability lawsuits involving asbestos, the herbicide Agent Orange, the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings that killed 32 people, and the Dalkon shield, a birth control device that injured more than 200,000 women.
In his latest role, Feinberg is charged with regulating compensation for 175 executives at Bank of America Corp., American International Group, Inc., Citigroup, Inc., General Motors Corp., GMAC Corp., Chrysler LLC and Chrysler Financial Group. Gibbs said Feinberg will decide whether pay at the seven companies is “sound and appropriate, rather than excessive.”
Executive pay became a hot button issue last fall after it was revealed that several banks and investment firms blamed for the financial meltdown paid multimillion dollar bonuses to employees.
As the unpaid special master, Feinberg will also develop advisory guidelines on pay for executives at 80 other financial institutions that have received government support.
Feinberg grew up in Brockton, and graduated cum laude from UMass Amherst in 1967. He received his J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1970.
Read more:
USA Today
New York Times
June 11, 2009.
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