Electronic Arts 2012 Annual Report Download - page 46

This peer group was re-assessed in the third quarter of fiscal 2012 to determine if changes were necessary for
compensation decisions that will be made for the next fiscal year. At that time, the Committee selected the peer
group to be used for assessing executive compensation in fiscal 2013 and elected to make the following
modifications to the fiscal 2013 peer group:
•Removals: THQ and eBay were removed as they no longer had comparable revenue. Warner Music
Group was removed because it was acquired in July 2011.
•Additions: Zynga was added because they are a direct competitor in the videogame sector.
Salesforce.com was added as they are a comparable sized software company in the San Francisco Bay
Area with whom we compete for executive talent.
Compensation Benchmarking
In the fourth quarter of our prior fiscal year, fiscal 2011, Compensia conducted a comprehensive analysis of our
executive compensation programs using data from the Radford High Technology Executive Compensation
Surveys and publicly available information on our peer group. The analysis included a comparison of the base
salary, target bonus, long-term incentives and total compensation of each of our executive-level positions against
similar positions in our peer group. Each compensation element was evaluated against peer group compensation
at multiple percentile levels, including the 50th and the 75th percentile. Where sufficient market data for our peer
group was not available, Compensia used data from a broader group of similar sized technology companies.
Compensia provided the Committee with their findings in February 2011 to be used as a reference for making
compensation decisions for fiscal 2012.
Determining NEOs’ Fiscal 2012 Salaries, Target Bonuses, and Equity Grants
In May 2011, the Committee reviewed and approved base salary, target cash bonus and equity grant
recommendations for each of the NEOs for fiscal 2012 (other than Mr. Riccitiello). These decisions were made
after consideration of the following factors, where applicable:
• The Company’s compensation philosophy and principles discussed in this Compensation Discussion and
Analysis;
• The financial, strategic and operational performance of the Company and the NEO’s relevant business
unit (as applicable) during the prior fiscal year, fiscal 2011;
• Each NEO’s individual performance, as evaluated by our Chief Executive Officer with assistance from
our Chief Talent Officer;
• An internal comparison of each NEO’s compensation;
• Peer group market data provided by Compensia; and
• Current unvested equity holdings and compensation of each NEO.
Determining CEO’s Fiscal 2012 Salary, Target Bonus, and Equity Grants
For our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Riccitiello, the compensation-setting process differed from our other NEOs.
The first step in this process was a fiscal 2011 performance review, which was conducted by the Nominating and
Governance Committee of the Board of Directors with the assistance of the Chief Talent Officer, taking into
consideration Mr. Riccitiello’s and the Company’s financial, strategic and operational performance. That review
was provided to the Committee, which then developed compensation recommendations for Mr. Riccitiello with
assistance from Compensia. The compensation recommendations and performance review were then presented to
the full Board of Directors, which subsequently approved Mr. Riccitiello’s fiscal 2012 base salary, target cash
bonus opportunity, and equity award.
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