General Motors awarded CEO Mary Barra a 23% pay bump in 2021

DETROIT — General Motors awarded CEO Mary Barra $29.1 million in total compensation last year, up 23 percent from 2020.

Last year was Barra’s eighth year leading GM. Her compensation, disclosed Friday in the automaker’s annual proxy statement, includes a base salary of $2.1 million, up 5.3 percent; $14.6 million in stock awards, up 11 percent; $3.9 million in option awards, up 5 percent; and $7.6 million in nonequity incentive plan compensation, more than double the amount she received in 2020.

GM has begun to consider North America electric vehicle volume, rollout timing and quality as it sets long-term compensation for executives, Barra said this week. For 2022, the EV metrics make up 15 percent of GM executives’ performance measures. Adjusted pretax profit margin and relative total shareholder return account for 30 percent each, and stock options determine 25 percent.

Barra’s compensation was worth about $6 million more than the package given to Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley, but she also chairs GM’s board. Farley nearly doubled his compensation to $22.8 million last year, his first full year as CEO.

GM’s 2021 adjusted earnings before taxes rose 47 percent to $14.3 billion, as revenue increased 3.7 percent to $127 billion. Adjusted automotive free cash flow was about flat at $2.6 billion.