Northwest Airlines CEO's exit package: $18.3 million
Steenland set to receive $18.3 million in compensation if Delta-NWA merger is completed. In 2007, the NWA chief executive received $6.5 million. 
By DAVID PHELPS and PATRICK KENNEDY, Star Tribune
Last update: April 29, 2008 - 7:23 PM

Douglas Steenland, who is likely to be the last CEO of Northwest Airlines, will receive an $18.3 payout if the merger with Delta Air Lines is completed by the end of 2008, according to documents filed Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The severance package includes a $3.3 million cash payment if Steenland loses his job through the combination of executive ranks by Jan. 1, 2009; $6.2 million in pension benefits; $8.1 million in restricted stock; $340,000 in medical and dental coverage continuation; and $398,947 in airline travel benefits. It's been no secret, however, that Steenland will leave the airline once the deal is completed, although he will become a member of Delta's board of directors.

Consumation of the merger, which still needs federal approval, will end Northwest's 82-year red tail legacy of commercial aviation in the Upper Midwest.

The Northwest proxy statement also revealed that total compensation for Steenland in 2007 was $6.5 million, up from $2.6 million the previous year, based in part on the airline's performance against its peers and its emergence from bankruptcy. Steenland's 2007 compensation places him 17th on the Star Tribune's preliminary list of the state's 100 highest-paid CEOs. (read more)

NWA Boosts Payout For CEO If He Stays For Merger
WCCO.com
Apr 18, 2008 6:23 pm US/Central
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ? Northwest Airlines said it would boost the payout for Chief Executive Doug Steenland if he stays until the carrier finishes its combination with Delta Air Lines.

The new agreement also takes away a financial incentive for Steenland to leave in June.

Northwest added another $3.6 million to his payout if he leaves after the company changes hands, to a total of roughly $11.4 million, according to a regulatory filing on Friday. The new money is based on Friday's share price and will rise or fall with it. (read more)

NWA puts $3.6 million on table to keep Steenland until merge
The airline's board awarded the CEO a retention incentive to remain at the Eagan-based carrier while the company and Delta seek regulatory approval for their merger.
By LIZ FEDOR, Star Tribune
Last update: April 18, 2008 - 10:59 PM

Northwest Airlines CEO Doug Steenland has been awarded stock-based incentives valued at about $3.6 million designed to retain him through the completion of a Northwest merger with Delta Air Lines, according to a regulatory filing Friday.

In his employment contract, Steenland could have left the Eagan-based carrier during June and would have been eligible to receive a $3.27 million one-time severance payment on top of other compensation, including previously earned pension benefits.

But Steenland agreed to waive that June exit clause in his contract in exchange for the 375,000 "restricted retention units," which are a form of stock-based compensation.

Based on Northwest's stock closing price Friday of $9.69 per share, the award is valued at $3.6 million. But the actual value of the package will not be known until Steenland either leaves the carrier or until the units fully vest. (read more)

If NWA CEO Leaves In June, He Could Get Nearly $8M
Mar 31, 2008 2:32 pm US/Central 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Northwest Airlines CEO Doug Steenland will have about eight million reasons to bail out of the struggling carrier this June.
  
His contract - signed the day Northwest entered bankruptcy more than two years ago - gives him an unusual one-month window to leave voluntarily and collect a special payment of at least $7.8 million. Steenland could get the same windfall if he leaves after a merger, but it's far from certain the carrier's talks with Delta Air Lines Inc. will lead to one.
  
Compensation experts said such lucrative escape clauses are an incentive to keep the CEO from leaving during the rough times. Others said CEOs whose companies go into bankruptcy shouldn't get that kind of reward. (read more)

NWA's Steenland likely to leave airline upon merger with Delta
Delta's CEO Richard Anderson would emerge as head of the combined carrier.
By LIZ FEDOR and PATRICK KENNEDY, Star Tribune
Last update: February 14, 2008 - 12:34 AM

Northwest Airlines CEO Doug Steenland is not expected to hold an executive post in the combined company if Northwest merges with Delta Air Lines, people familiar with the merger talks said Wednesday.

Steenland, 56, who led Northwest through a 21-month bankruptcy, could exit Northwest with about $19 million in total compensation, under his employment contract. (read more)

For exiting CEOs, a soft landing
Both NWA's Steenland and Delta's Anderson would benefit if their airline is swallowed up.
BY JOHN WELBES
Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated: 02/08/2008 10:37:28 PM CST

While talk intensifies that a Northwest Airlines-Delta Air Lines merger could be imminent, this much is certain: If either CEO loses his job in a deal, he'd receive an exit package worth millions of dollars.

Both airlines emerged from bankruptcy within the last year, and both saw changes to executive compensation packages as a result. (read more)