A farewell package of $89K -- per month?

A former GE executive lines up a nice perk after leaving the company.

By Kim Peterson Dec 26, 2012 4:52PM

John Krenicki put in 29 years at General Electric (GE), working his way up to lead the company's energy unit. He was an important guy there, one that Fortune speculated could be CEO one day.

Instead, he's retiring at the end of this year and will get a nice perk from the company: An $89,000 monthly allowance until he turns 60. He's about 50 now, so it will all add up to more than $10 million. In return, the company says in a regulatory filing, Krenicki can't go work for a competing company for three years.

This news was buried in a GE filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year and uncovered by the ever-vigilant blog Footnoted. It's now in first place in Footnoted's annual contest for the worst item of the year.

Krenicki will also get a cash bonus of at least $2.9 million for 2012. He also gets to vest at age 60 under GE's supplementary pension plan. And Footnoted notes that some 2 million stock options that had not vested as of last year will now vest. GE's stock price was at $20.79 Wednesday, so Krenicki stands to pocket some serious change by selling shares.

Krenicki was a lifer at GE, and his career was profiled in Fortune last year. He relocated his family 11 times while at the company, including two stints in Europe. He led the plastics division for nearly three years before he was promoted to run the energy division. He admitted to Fortune that he didn't want to become CEO of the company -- an early indicator, perhaps, that he was on the way to retirement.

By the way, Footnoted has another candidate for worst item of the year that I like even better. Dell (DELL) spent $1.9 million to move executive Stephen Schuckenbrock from Round Rock, Texas, to Plano, Texas. That's quite a pricey move for going 200 miles. About $1.5 million of that total was to pay Schuckenbrock for the loss on the sale of his house in Round Rock.

Schuckenbrock didn't stay for very long after the move. Earlier this month, he resigned "to seek new opportunities."

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231Comments

Newest

Dec 26, 2012 7:54PM

No more GE Products in my house.

Previous replies

Dec 26, 2012 7:49PM

ge sits on the presidents council for job they are supposed to be the model company why else wouild the president seek there council and look what they get for supporting the president no taxes moving the entire xray division over seas and 89,000 a month pre retirement pension plan it does sound like ge is learning alot from our president

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2014 will be Darker

Dec 26, 2012 7:41PM

sob...

Previous replies

Re-TOG Re-TOG (Re-TOG)

Dec 26, 2012 7:40PM

Let's SEE.....As a long term stockholder of GE....This doesn't make me real happy...

I might and probably will express this in a proxy/voting card..

I believe the monthly amount is somewhat absurd...

I also believe the NON-Compete agreement,should cover until this extra pension runs out,not 3 yrs.

Now more disturbing, are the Americans that will never buy GE products again; BUT INSTEAD may purchase pure Foriegn crap from China,Japan and Taiwan.

Maybe you should cut off an EAR or poke out and EYE...Only have to buy 1 ear ring, or a monocle for the one eye..

Previous replies

Dec 26, 2012 7:37PM

It's all a media clifff.......we're just suckers to fall for it......

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Dec 26, 2012 7:24PM

Guess finishing school and hard work really pays off. I love all of the hate you people have to a guy that practically won the lotto with his career choice. Do you all have that jealous greed to people who win the lottery as well?

Previous replies

Dec 26, 2012 7:03PM

I'm not really suprised, these events happen fare too often. I'm supprised ( alittle)

of the amount...but hey, look at the bright side, the guy's taking a cut in pay..........( isn't he?? )

GE just cut their payroll, ( didn't they?? )..

Oh well, no more wrong than our President, taking a vacation in Hawaii, At tax payers expense..

No more wrong , than the Prezz, running to Ohio, to cut a ribbon, and work the people for re-election,

( oh by the way....at tax payers expense)....oh by the way, did anyone see all the sheep, lined up to buy the new iphone??.... so Apple can line their pockets?? ( oh by the way....the iphone, is jacked with high margins)..

Previous replies

Truth_and_honesty

Dec 26, 2012 7:01PM

Yes, but it's really the unions who are the problem. All those people making $50,000 a year are crimping the style of all these executives. How can they brag about their 40 foot yacht when others in their country club have 50 footers? And how can they possibly afford a staff of 10 maids/butlers/grounds keepers/personal a$$ wipers on just $25,000 a month? You need at least that much just to find good help so you can pay them $22,000 a year for 80 hour weeks. It is really tough to be in the upper class these days. All these commoners think they are entitled to that retirement pay of $1500/ month that they paid 7% of their salary for those 40 years of working like a slave will just have to suck it up so that the privileged can all continue to buy the latest Bentley every year. It would be so ghetto to be driven around in the same old Bentley for more than a year wouldn't it?

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Dec 26, 2012 6:44PM

We criticize people who move laterally into a company at a very high position, founder around for a couple of years (sometimes less), disrupt the place and leave with a large "goodbye" payment. And we should be critical of these people. But this man, described as a lifer, earned very penny of what he is getting. He and his family put 29 years of their lives into GE, including moves, his time away from home, etc. Yes, he no doubt was compensated along the way and particulated in a plan with rules. If he played by the rules whatever he gets, he earned.

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Dec 26, 2012 6:39PM

We wonder why as a nation we are in trouble, for starters this is one, this man will make more in retirement than i would make in, lets say 50 lifetimes. Here's an idea lets even the odds a little and actually give someone working for you more than a twenty cent raise and then tell them they should be grateful to have their job. I say you should be grateful to have the employees you have and instead of taxing the fool out of the say middle class, lets be fair and flat tax everyone at the same rate regardless of income and tax business at business rate. No more smoke and mirrors and no more tax shelters for large corporations. 29 years or not this is a joke.

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Dec 26, 2012 6:34PM

I agree, i will not buy another GE product ever.

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Dec 26, 2012 6:31PM

Buy a GE anything so the poor guy can make it alright.

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Dec 26, 2012 6:30PM

You can all stop complaining... You know damn well you could not do this guys job and make it. None of you know the half of what this guy had to do for that kind of pay. He turned down being CEO!!! Most of you could not even run a company with 1 employee let alone a huge corporation. Stop being jealous. If you could run something like this then you would be making more and not complaining... so pathetic you all are!

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Dec 26, 2012 6:25PM

No wonder GE can't afford to pay any corporate income tax.

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Dec 26, 2012 6:16PM

Apples sitting on 300Billion of iPhone/IPad cash..just stockpiling it. How about opening a few US plants in appreciation of the 3.2 apple products/household that the American people of buying from them. How about endowing a few universities, medical research...anything to actually HELP the country, the world. How about some friggin corporate patriotism?

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Dec 26, 2012 6:11PM

Yes and we the customers are paying for all this. Wow. And this is only one giant corp of many.

Guess who's ruling the world.

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Dec 26, 2012 6:02PM

Who cares? As long as GE is honoring their commitments to it's other employees in terms of pensions and retirement health care benefits, there's no problem, but if they are crying poor and have let people down as they retired, then it's wrong. Many big corporations have restructured to cut costs and left people out in the cold with broken promises and dishonored contractual obligations. In those cases, the CEOs shouldn't collect anything. The government should make companies live up to all employer obligations before any stockholder or CEO/ bonus payments as a matter of law.

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Dec 26, 2012 5:59PM

Let`s not forget GE pays no taxes.We constantly hear the nasty far right complain about

free loaders.Let`s hear them be consistant about their bellyache.Also, Ge employs more people in foreign countries than America.

Previous replies

Dec 26, 2012 5:57PM

This is nuts. Glad he wasn't CEO, because then it would be $100 million+ settlement. It's really sad, that only the higher ups get guaranteed contracts.

Previous replies

Dec 26, 2012 5:48PM

GE can stick their products where the sun don't shine. This consumer is done and just plain sick of it. $89k a month?! I refuse to help any company pay anyone that much money, I don't care who it is. No entertainer is worth it to promote and no Executive is worth it. I have all GE appliances in my home and when they $%*! the bed, I will replace with LG.

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