Symantec 2012 Annual Report Download - page 51

Board, in the case of CEO compensation, and in making compensation decisions with respect to other named
executive officers, the Compensation Committee may consider factors such as the individual’s responsibilities,
the individual’s performance, business unit performance, industry experience, current pay mix, total compensa-
tion competitiveness, long-term equity and cash awards previously granted to the individual, retention consid-
erations, and other factors.
Compensation Risk Assessment: The Compensation Committee, in consultation with Mercer, has con-
ducted its annual risk analysis on Symantec’s compensation policies and practices, and does not believe that our
compensation programs encourage excessive or inappropriate risk taking by our executives or are reasonably
likely to have a material adverse effect on Symantec.
COMPENSATION COMPONENTS
The major components of compensation for our named executive officers continue to be: (i) base salary,
(ii) short-term cash incentive awards, (iii) long-term cash incentive awards, and (iv) equity incentive awards.
Reflecting the global nature of our business, one of our named executive officers, Rowan M. Trollope, was on
international assignment in the United Kingdom prior to becoming a Symantec executive officer in fiscal 2012.
Mr. Trollope received additional benefits for certain relocation and transportation expenses and tax payments in
connection with his international assignment in the United Kingdom. While these amounts reflect a significant
component of his total compensation reported in the Summary Compensation Table on page 54, they were not a
factor in the Compensation Committee’s decisions with respect to his compensation for fiscal 2012 because they
did not relate to Mr. Trollope’s service as an executive officer and were designed to minimize any financial
detriment to him from his prior assignment.
Base Salary
The Compensation Committee reviews the named executive officers’ salaries annually as part of its overall
competitive market assessment and may make adjustments based on positioning relative to market, individual
role, performance, contribution levels, and our overall salary budget. The independent members of the Board of
Directors review the CEO’s salary in executive session (i.e., without any executives present), and changes are
considered in light of market pay assessments and the Board’s annual CEO performance evaluation, in each case
without the participation of our CEO. In setting the base salaries for the other named executive officers, the
Compensation Committee also considers the recommendations of the CEO based upon his annual review of their
performance. Although the Compensation Committee takes into account the factors and information described
above during its review and determination of the base salary for each executive officer, it does not assign a
specific weight to any element and does not measure individual performance against an objective standard in the
evaluation of an executive officer’s base salary. Instead, these reviews and determinations are based on the
Compensation Committee’s subjective judgment taking into account all available information, including the
competitive market assessment.
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