Symantec 2012 Annual Report Download - page 49

lished survey data from a broader set of information technology companies that the Compensation Committee,
based on the advice of Mercer, believes represent Symantec’s competition in the broader talent market. The peer
group’s proxy statements provide detailed pay data for the top five positions. Survey data provides compensation
information from a broader group of information technology companies, with positions matched based on
specific job scope and responsibilities. The Compensation Committee considers data from these sources as a
framework for making compensation decisions for each named executive officer’s position.
The information technology industry in which we compete is characterized by rapid rates of change and
intense competition from small and large companies, and the companies within this industry have significant
cross-over in leadership talent needs. As such, we compete for executive talent with leading software and serv-
ices companies as well as in the broad information technology industry. We particularly face intense competition
with companies located in the geographic areas where Symantec operates, regardless of specific industry focus or
company size. Further, because we believe that stockholders measure our performance against a wide array of
technology peers, the Compensation Committee uses a peer group that consists of a broader group of high tech-
nology companies in different market segments that are of a comparable size to us. The Compensation Commit-
tee uses this peer group, as well as other relevant market data, to evaluate named executive officer pay levels (as
described above).
The Compensation Committee reviews our peer group on an annual basis, and the group may be adjusted
from time to time based on a comparison of market capitalization, industry and peer group performance. We did
not make any changes to our peer group for fiscal 2012. The following companies were included in our peer
group analysis:
Symantec Peer Group
Adobe Systems Analog Devices Apple
CA Cisco Systems Electronic Arts
EMC Harris Corp Juniper Networks
Lexmark International NetApp Oracle
Qualcomm Seagate Technology Yahoo!
Appropriate Pay Mix: Consistent with our pay-for-performance philosophy, our executive officers’ com-
pensation is structured with a large portion of their total direct compensation paid based on the performance of
our company and the applicable business unit. In determining the mix of the various reward elements and the
value of each component, the Compensation Committee takes into account the executive’s role, the competitive-
ness of the market for executive talent, company performance, business unit performance, internal pay equity and
historical compensation. In making its determinations with regard to compensation, the Compensation Commit-
tee reviews the various compensation elements for the CEO and our other named executive officers (including
base salary, target annual bonus, target and accrued award payments under the Long Term Incentive Plans, and
the value of vested and unvested equity awards actually or potentially issued).
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