Windstream CEO Earns $4.2M in 2007

Gardner's base salary of $884,615 grew 26 percent from a year earlier, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He was awarded $774,474 in non-equity incentive plan compensation, down 40 percent from $1.3 million in 2006.

Windstream paid short-term cash incentives to Gardner and other executives based on the company's performance. Gardner's incentive compensation was about 86 percent of the total target payout award for the year; he was eligible for up to 100 percent of his base salary.

Gardner's perquisites totaled $18,100, down from $130,003 a year earlier. It included the personal use of a company plane, 401(k) matching contributions, annual country club dues and up to $5,000 for financial planning.

He was also awarded stock options that the company valued at $2.5 million on the dates they were granted. In 2006, this amounted to $7.6 million.

The AP's total pay calculations include executives' salary, bonus, incentives, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year. The calculations don't include changes in the present value of pension benefits, and they sometimes differ from the totals companies list in the summary compensation table of proxy statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Windstream's shares fell roughly 8 percent in 2007, but the company's fourth-quarter earnings soared as a hefty gain from a sale of a business boosted results. Revenue for the quarter beat Wall Street's expectations.