Kraft CEO's compensation rose 38 percent in 2009

PORTLAND, Ore. -- The CEO of Kraft Foods Inc., Irene Rosenfeld, received compensation valued at $22.1 million in 2009, an increase of 38 percent from 2008, according to Associated Press calculations based on a regulatory filing Tuesday.

Rosenfeld's base salary of $1.5 million in 2009 was 1.2 percent higher than the previous year. The bulk of her pay hike came from a bigger performance-based bonus. She received nearly $10.6 million in 2009, more than double the $4.1 million she received in 2008, as she sold Kraft's North American pizza business and pursued the acquisition of British candy maker Cadbury PLC.

That deal, which shareholders approved in February, makes the nation's largest food maker into the world's largest confectioner as well.

Rosenfeld also received stock options and restricted stock valued at $9.7 million, down slightly from the $10.3 million granted in 2008. And she got $362,994 in other compensation, including personal use of the company's aircraft valued at $56,348, car expenses of $19,107, a tax reimbursement of $38,239 and contributions to Rosenfeld's retirement fund of $249,300.

The Associated Press formula is designed to isolate the value the company's board placed on the executive's total compensation package during the last fiscal year. It includes salary, bonus, performance-related bonuses, 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, making the AP total different in most cases from the total companies report to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Kraft, which is based in Northfield, is banking on the acquisition of Cadbury to drive growth in overseas markets and expand its product lines.

The company's income more than tripled in the fourth quarter, its first quarterly report since it acquired Cadbury.