Jim Heim and Tom McNeill, Partners at Meridian Compensation Partners, are the featured experts on this episode of The Executive Compensation Podcast. Jim has over 20 years of experience and primarily consults with tech and life sciences companies, including IPOs. Tom works primarily in the energy sector as well as telecom, financial services, and consumer services. In this episode, Jim and Tom address the challenges of crafting executive compensation plans that are on par with industry peers and shareholder expectations, while meeting the unique needs and priorities of the individual company—from pay mix to metrics and navigating proxy advisor preferences. They discuss which sectors might benefit most from short- or long-term incentives, what non-traditional metrics companies might use in special circumstances, the role of ESG metrics, and why the use of stock options is declining in some sectors. They also share ideas on how to communicate with shareholders and proxy advisors to garner support for Say-on-Pay votes. After you listen, connect with Jim Heim and Tom McNeill on LinkedIn. This episode is brought to you by Meridian Compensation Partners. Learn more by visiting MeridianCP.com.