Symantec 2009 Annual Report Download - page 36

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION AND RELATED INFORMATION
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION & ANALYSIS (CD&A)
INTRODUCTION
Our Compensation Philosophy
Our executive compensation programs are designed to drive our success as a market leader in the information
technology industry. In structuring and overseeing these programs, we focus on the achievement of corporate,
business unit and individual performance objectives, attracting and retaining highly-qualified executive manage-
ment, and maximizing long-term stockholder value.
A number of principles and circumstances inform our executive compensation decisions. An important
principle driving our compensation programs is our belief that it benefits all of our constituencies for management’s
compensation to be tied to the Company’s current and long-term performance. As a result, at-risk pay comprises a
significant portion of our executive compensation, in particular for individuals holding more senior and influential
positions at Symantec.
We believe it is important to continue to attract, appropriately motivate and retain highly-qualified executives
who are energetically committed to Symantec’s success. We look to relevant market and industry practices to
structure compensation packages that are competitive in the markets in which we compete for executive talent.
While we strive for a basic level of internal pay equity among our management team members, we also believe that
it is important to reward outstanding individual performance, team success, and Company-wide results.
We are also sensitive to our need to balance the interests of our executives with those of our stockholders,
especially when our compensation decisions might increase our cost structure or stockholder dilution. We work
hard to appropriately balance the interests of all of our constituencies — our stockholders, our executive officers,
the remainder of our employee base, our business partners and our community.
Summary of Compensation Matters During Fiscal 2009
Notwithstanding the global economic downturn, fiscal 2009 was in large part a successful year for the
Company. As detailed below, three core financial metrics are used to measure Company performance under our
executive compensation programs: revenue, earnings per share and cash flow from operations. Although the
Company did not achieve its revenue or cash flow targets, we did achieve very strong earnings per share
performance, largely as result of a keen focus on cost containment. Our executive officers were compensated
consistent with our pay-for-performance compensation philosophy and in keeping with the terms of our com-
pensation arrangements.
Roles of Our Compensation Committee, Executive Officers and Consultants in our Compensation Process
The Compensation Committee, which is comprised of independent directors, establishes and oversees the
overall strategy for employee compensation, including our executive compensation programs. For more details
about the Compensation Committee’s functions and additional information about Compensation Committee
members, see the “Corporate Governance Standards and Director Independence” section (beginning on page 5) and
the “Board Committees and Their Functions” section (beginning on page 7).
The Compensation Committee is responsible for overseeing all of the Company’s compensation programs,
including general employee and Board of Director compensation. This CD&A describes how the Compensation
Committee approached and fulfilled that responsibility in fiscal 2009 with respect to our named executive officers
(“NEOs”). For fiscal 2009, our NEOs were:
• John W. Thompson, Chairman of the Board (and former Chief Executive Officer)
• Enrique Salem, President and Chief Executive Officer (and former Chief Operating Officer)
• James A. Beer, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
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