This episode of The Executive Compensation Podcast features Partner Michael Brittian and  Senior Consultant Adam Hearn of Meridian Compensation Partners. Michael has over 20 years of experience consulting on compensation-related issues for diverse industries such as oil and gas, financial services, and retail. Adam advises on a broad range of matters including benchmarking, peer group design, and change-in-control and severance arrangements. CEO compensation matters generate energy and emotion for stakeholders, employees, customers, and the general public. In this podcast, Michael and Adam explain how companies establish compensation plans for CEOs from hire to retire. The process is highly nuanced. Incentives vary based on many factors: whether the CEO was promoted from within or hired externally, their years of experience in the CEO role, market data and other performance benchmarks, and more. They break down the process of designing a CEO compensation program, from establishing clear roles and responsibilities to gathering and analyzing data. You’ll learn why new CEOs might earn less (or more) than their predecessors, how CEOs are compensated when transitioning out of the organization, and how compensation committees try to balance internal business needs with external expectations. After you listen, connect with Michael Brittian and Adam Hearn on LinkedIn. This episode is brought to you by Meridian Compensation Partners. Learn more by visiting MeridianCP.com.