WASHINGTON – CUNA said last week it paid former CEO Dan Mica almost $1.7 million for six months work last year, as Mica opted to leave the trade group midway through the year even though he got paid through year-end under his contract.
Mica’s successor, Bill Cheney, was paid $560,000 for the final six months, which included a $150,000 signing bonus and base salary of $333,000 for that period.
The rest of CUNA’s top executives got double-digit pay raises as CUNA rebounded from two years of big losses to report a $2.1 million net. The lone exception was Richard McBride, Mica’s chief of staff, who got a 5% pay hike and earned $481,000.
The others and their pay were: Eric Richard, CUNA’s general counsel, $430,000 (up 14%); John Franklin, senior vice president, $421,000 (up 11%); Bill Hampel, chief economist, $385,000 (up 14%); John Magill, chief lobbyist, $356,000 (up 14%); Susan Newton, senior vice president, $353,000 (up 23%); Richard Gose, senior vice president, $292,000 (up 20%); Joanne Duncan, chief financial officer, $286,000 (up 25%); and, Mark Wolff, senior vice president public affairs, $275,000 (up 25%).
The big pay hikes came after CUNA froze wages for top executives amid big losses the year before.