I offer a balanced perspective in advising clients, reflecting on both external practices as well as internal goals and objectives. I strive to provide advice on key topics in executive and incentive compensation that is thoughtful, candid, and with a strong point of view.
Steve Van Putten is a senior managing director with Pearl Meyer and leads the firm’s efforts with respect to thought leadership and intellectual capital development. Steve’s primary focus and expertise is on advising compensation committees and senior management on executive and director compensation matters. He has over 30 years of board-level experience consulting to Fortune 500 companies on executive pay.
Steve is a frequent presenter at national executive compensation forums and conferences, including the National Association of Corporate Directors’ annual conference featuring the “Leading Minds in Executive Compensation.” He has written extensively on executive and incentive compensation and is the co-author of the book Myths and Realities of Executive Compensation (Cambridge University Press).
Steve specializes in the design of annual and long-term incentive programs that support long-term value creation. He has developed innovative methodologies for analyzing relationships between pay and performance, as well as assisting companies in determining appropriate performance metrics and associated goals, and calibrating performance award slopes.
Prior to joining Pearl Meyer in 2010, he was the North America East Region practice leader of Watson Wyatt’s executive compensation consulting practice and North American practice director of Watson Wyatt’s performance metrics and measurement group.
Steve holds an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and a BA from Trinity College.
