Best Buy CEO Passes $7.5 to employees

In an uncharacteristically generous move by a corporate CEO, Best Buy's CEO Brad Anderson announced he will hand over 200,000 stock options, with a potential value of $7.5 million, to non-executive employees of Best Buy.

From this mornings Star Tribune:

The company declined to comment on Anderson's decision, but John Fossum, a professor at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management who monitors executive compensation trends, said such actions are rare.

"I've never heard of a situation like this before," Fossum said.

By giving away his options, Anderson is sending an important message to Best Buy investors and workers.

"He's saying, 'The CEO is not the only one who contributes to the success of the organization,'" Fossum said.

"What people do at a variety of different levels in the organization really helps out the organization and is ultimately going to drive the company's share price," Fossum said.

Nice to see a good PR move made by the CEO without direction from the company.