Whether you are a compensation professional looking for information about a particular compensation subject, a student or academician researching compensation, or a potential client interested in our services, we believe you will find much to inform and interest you. First, though, a word of warning -- there is not much here that is basic. We aim to provide sophisticated compensation consulting services to the most demanding corporations worldwide. Consequently, our interests are at the leading edge of design and technical innovations, and that is reflected in our writings and research.

Before you start your exploration of who we are and what we do, let us summarize our values and beliefs. The focus of our work is on cash compensation (salary and bonuses) and equity incentives for executives and key employees throughout the organization. We believe executives should be paid more, but not differently, from other employees. A "key" employee is defined not by level, but by the leadership shown and the contribution he or she makes. We want the positive principles of executive compensation to be applied to employees at all levels.

We believe people should be paid based on what they contribute, and that the best long-term incentive is the opportunity for significant ownership in the company. We further believe key employees' interests should be aligned with shareholders in creating value, and that the creative design of employee-equity linkages is our greatest value added to client organizations. Finally, we believe the caliber and motivation of a company's employees and the quality of their leadership is what distinguishes a great company and provides competitive advantage.

A fundamental shift is occurring in the value created by "human capital" relative to financial capital, with the value created by human capital increasing. The relative distribution of rewards to those who provide human capital has historically lagged that provided to those who provide financial capital. But this is starting to change, as it should in our economy where ideas and innovations are more valuable than the physical tools used to implement them. This is most evident in the "new economy" high-growth, technology-based companies. We are proud to be a participant in and contributor to this development.

It is exciting and rewarding to be a part of developments which are occurring in our economy and in the compensation of key people. We hope you share this excitement as you browse our website.