Top ten Alaska Native Regional Corporation executives earned a combined $25 million in 2018

Documents obtained by the Alaska Landmine from the Division of Banking and Securities show that the top ten executives of Alaska Native Regional Corporations earned a combined $25 million in total compensation in 2018. The documents also show that eleven executives of regional corporations earned more than $1 million each in total compensation last year, with four earning over $3 million. In 1971 the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) established twelve regional corporations, as well as a thirteenth with no land conveyance. It also established 224 village corporations.

Topping the list are Butch Lincoln and Rex Rock Sr. from Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC), who both earned more than $5 million in total compensation last year. ASRC is by far the best performing Native Corporation and Alaska company. They are consistently the number one Alaska company on the Alaska Business Top 49 list. All twelve regional corporations also appear on the list.

The State of Alaska requires Alaska Native Corporations with over 500 shareholders to file annual reports that list the names and total compensation of the top five executives, the total compensation for all executives, board member compensation, and other company information. The information is publicly available but requires going in person to the Division of Banking and Securities office, locating the filings on a computer they provide, and copying them to a removable drive.

Several executives of regional corporations head or work for subsidiaries. Many Native Corporations have acquired subsidiaries around the country that often take advantage of the 8(a) Business Development Program.

Here is a list of the top ten paid executives.

Ten Highest-Paid Alaska Native Regional Corporation Executives, 2018
Name
Position & Corporation
Compensation
1
Butch Lincoln
EVP & COO, ASRC
$5,129,542
2
Rex Rock, Sr.
Sr. President & CEO, ASRC
$5,082,087
3
Mark Grey
President & CEO, ASRC Federal Holding Company, ASRC
$3,446,213
4
William Monet
President & CEO, Akima, NANA
$3,013,448
5
Greg Johnson
President & CEO, ASRC Industrial Services
$1,943,365
6
Charlie Kozak
EVP & CFO, ASRC
$1,870,714
7
Terry Downes
COO, Sealaska Corporation
$1,684,449
8
Aaron Schutt
President & CEO, Doyon
$1,152,805
9
Anthony Mallott
President & CEO, Sealaska Corporation
$1,127,423
10
Doug Morris
CFO, Sealaska Corporation
$1,087,915

Below is a list of the all of the top paid executives at the twelve regional corporations. Some of the corporate filings break down compensation by salary, bonus, retirement, etc… and some just list total compensation.

ANC Regional Corp Top 5 Salaries 2018

For comparison, here are the salaries for top executives of other Alaska companies.

Chugach Electric, Total Compensation (2018)

Lee Thiebert, CEO – $542,141
Arthur Miller, Sr. VP – $475, 139
Brian Hickey, COO – $430,454
Sherri Highers, CFO – $358,366

Salary information was obtained from Chugach Electric’s annual SEC filing. It can be found on page 98.

Northrim Bank, Total Compensation (2018)

Joseph M. Schierhorn, President, CEO – $768,074
Michael A. Martin, EVO, COO – $391,753
Benjamin D. Craig, EVO, CIO – $338,875

Salary information was obtained from salary.com.

GCI Liberty, Total Compensation (2018)

Ron Duncan, CEO – $4,676,306
Peter Pounds, CFO – $2,078,339

Salary information was obtained from GCI Liberty’s Annual Report. It can be found on page 30.

Here are the 2018 Proxy Statements for each of the 12 regional corporations:

Ahtna

2019 AHTNA Proxy Statement 4-22-19

Aleut

2019 Aleut Corpt- Proxy Statement – Final (1) Rec. 9-4-19

ASRC

2019 ASRC Proxy Statement 5-9-19

BBNC

2019 Bristol Bay Proxy Statement 8-14-19

Bering Straits

2019 Bering Straits Proxy Statement 9-3-18

Calista 

2019 Calista Proxy Statement 5-16-19

Chugach

2019 Chugach Proxy Statement 8-22-19

CIRI

2019 CIRI Proxy Statement 4-8-19

Doyon

2019 Doyon Proxy Statement 1-24-19

Koniag

2019 Koniag Proxy Statement 8-21-19

NANA

2019 NANA Proxy Statement 2-11-19

Sealaska

2019 Sealaska Proxy Statement 5-3-19

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Brophus Peter
4 years ago

Thank you for publishing this article. Executive compensation is a big nationwide issue, and the fact that these are Native Corps doesn’t mean they need to be treated with kid gloves. These are big, powerful companies that wield massive political influence, and it’s good for Alaskans to know more about how they operate (very well it seems, if you’re at the top).

Okay
4 years ago
Reply to  Brophus Peter

Ok Brophus. Boomer.

Frank Watson
4 years ago

If I was writing this article I would have at least put it in perspective of the company size. ASRC is a 2.5Billion size company. The larger and more complex an organization is, the more substantial the compensation package provided to the CEO and other Executive Team Members responsible for generating income for its shareholders (in some instances over 175m$ bottom line annually). Lastly, these large Alaska Native Corps are still competing for the talent vs other private or public companies.

Shazbot
4 years ago
Reply to  Frank Watson

Lol, talent. Good one. For the folks where the rubber hits the road, yes. Rex is basically a highly compensated cheerleader.

Disgruntled
4 years ago
Reply to  Frank Watson

And meanwhile, their employees have to take Leave Without Pay if they get COVID-19 (after having to do the same during the government shut down), and all “merit” increases have been cancelled, when the company isn’t losing any money. But sure, making those kinds of decisions deserves $3.5 and $5 million a year.

Dawn Cooper
4 years ago

I am curious to know what the salary and compensation are for the village corporations as well.

real_name_hidden
4 years ago
Reply to  Jeff Landfield

That is great – but before any more of this hard-hitting journalism, you might want to do a little research… You are comparing apples to oranges, my dude. Not even sure where to start, okay how about here: There are only two (2) differences between an Alaska Native Corporation (Capital A, Capital N) than a non-Native corporation: 1. ANC’s do not have to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) 2. Now listen real close here, this is important. ANC’s stock can not be traded (sold, bought, etc.) So by comparing “Total compensation” of ANC executives vs. publicly held… Read more »

Judy burns
4 years ago

Ok, I’m going to run for office!
Oh wait , I have cancer & in hospital with respiratory distress. I guess NO CHRISTMAS for me this year again. Wish our Corporation were more profitable ! Raven

David
3 years ago

Executive compensation for GCI and Northrim allow executives to receive stock compensation. Alaska Native corporations cannot compensate executives with stock packages.
 
The actual compensation for GCI’s highest paid employee in 2018 received more than $4,000,000 when factoring in stock packages. According to their website, GCI had revenues nearly totaling $900m in 2018 (http://ir.gciliberty.com/news-releases/news-release-details/gci-liberty-reports-fourth-quarter-and-year-end-2018-financial). ASRC, by comparison, had revenues in excess of $2.5bn.
 
Why don’t you cover corporate executive compensation nationwide?

Tilli Abbott
1 year ago

This is so wrong on all accounts. No shame…no oversight bt the SEC. Thus the out of control behavior!

Lorenandrews
1 year ago

I thought natives were decolonizing… why do they need money?