Did BlackBerry Ltd CEO Chen's Pay Package Really Drop 96%?

Yesterday the Wall Street Journal reported that BlackBerry CEO John Chen’s pay fell 96% last year to $3.4 million, and today that story got picked up by AP and syndicated, probably causing a lot of head scratching along the way. While literally true, this is a weird way of thinking about Chen’s pay because the actual value of Chen’s five-year pay package increased by 60%. A low base rate and big stock grant was intentional because it gave Chen a clear incentive to stick around and save the company. Chen’s compensation package now worth over $140 million When Chen was…