Google will give $20-mn equity to Pichette, Arora

Google, owner of the world’s most popular Internet search site, boosted the stock grants and bonuses of some of its executives, including Chief Financial Officer Patrick Pichette.

Pichette and Nikesh Arora, head of global sales, will each be paid $20 million in equity awards, the Mountain View, California-based company said today in a regulatory filing. Stock awards to executive officers will be made annually from now on, rather than every other year, the company’s previous practice.

Google is raising compensation as it faces more competition for talent from rival Internet companies such as Facebook Inc. It’s also raising performance bonuses for executives to 250 per cent of base salary from 150 per cent, the filing said.

Alan Eustace, senior vice president of engineering and research, will receive a $10 million equity award, while Jonathan Rosenberg, senior vice president of product management, will get a $5 million award.

Founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page and Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt don’t participate in the executive plan and receive an annual salary of $1 apiece.

Google shares fell $13.90, or 2.3 per cent, to $603.29 at 5:20 pm New York time on the Nasdaq Stock Market. They have fallen 2.7 per cent this year compared with an 11 per cent gain by the Nasdaq Composite Index.