Compensation committee members are spending more time discussing how they reward top executives.

Stock options, for example, are designed to reward executives for an increase in a company's share price.

Mr. Snow added that he trusted the marketplace to reward executives.

It now appears that brokerage firms used this pile to reward already wealthy executives whose companies were, or might become, their customers.

The shares, which usually vest gradually over several years, drew scorn because they rewarded executives even if the stock price fell and did not recover.

He has missed out on receiving stock options, which have rewarded executives at publicly traded companies.

The company plans to introduce a stock option plan that rewards executives only when the company's stock has reached certain targets.

His rise to the post of vice chairman is somewhat unusual in the oil business, an industry that tends to reward home-grown executives.

In general, investors prefer companies to reward executives for producing recurring income, not one-time gains.

Stock options, which reward executives for higher share prices, became hugely popular.