Consulting: What attracted you to Pearl Meyer & Partners?

Van Putten: First, I really love executive compensation work. When I graduated form business school 15 years ago, most of my colleagues were looking at management consulting careers. It appealed to me, but so did a corporate finance career. And so I started looking for ways to marry both the people side and numbers side of business. So, it's always been a passion of mine. I enjoy working at high levels within organizations, developing compensation programs. I truly believe in the power of incentives. I believe a well-constructed incentive program can motivate actions and behaviors that align with what a company is trying to achieve. My career path, within a full-service firm environment, gave me the opportunity to work with many different companies. What attracted me to Pearl Meyer specifically is that independence issues do not confront it. I think we'll likely continue to see a lot of executive compensation work move toward boutiques. Pearl Meyer is one of the larger boutiques and therefore has more critical mass than many smaller boutiques.

Consulting: Where are the biggest market opportunities today for executive compensation consultants?

Van Putten: The convergence of forces impacting executive pay is unprecedented. Companies are fending off inquiries from the media, Congress, investor shareholder groups, etc. Companies are trying to come to grips with how to handle these outside pressures, and, at the same time, make sure they have executive compensation plans that motivate sustained performance and hold executives accountable.

One on One with Pearl Meyer's Steven Van Putten

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