Zayla Partners

05/13/2025

In today’s volatile market, businesses are grappling with unprecedented challenges that are affecting businesses at nearly every level – including one of the largest company investment/expenses: compensation 💵 .

From tariffs and geopolitical risks to labor market shifts, inflation, and 📈 stock market volatility, companies are experiencing what can be termed as “compensation whiplash”—rapid and unpredictable swings in pay structures and outcomes.

While 20% stock market selloffs can feel unsettling and raw, there are 💡 tried and true compensation best practices businesses can employ to navigate compensation whiplash and regain confidence in delivering the best bang for the compensation buck.

Let Zayla help you navigate the 2025 market volatility by giving you tried and true compensation advice that lets you weather any storm.

03/31/2025

Check out our preliminary analysis of energy industry executive compensation trends conducted from the early stages of 2025 proxy filings.

Preliminary analysis of energy industry executive compensation trends conducted from the early stages of the 2025 proxy filings.

03/12/2025

2025 will be an exciting year with the expansion of ECI's compensation survey offerings to other segments of the energy industry. Participate and gain valuable insights on compensation practices across your competitive marketplace in this dynamic industry.

April 1 - Exploration and Production
May 1 - Midstream, OFS, and Alternative

Companies wishing to participate must meet survey criteria. Submit an inquiry form to receive our questionnaire.
https://zayla.com/services/executive-employee-compensation/eci/oil-amp-gas-compensation-surveys/

08/05/2024

The Zayla Team recently updated our analysis on CEO pay in the Houston metro. We noted that median CEO pay rose 4.7% from our last study. Check out more CEO pay details from 155 public companies in the area.

A compiled list of the highest paid public CEO's in Houston, Texas for proxies filed in 2024 for the 2023 fiscal year.

06/27/2024

Zayla conducted an analysis of new E&P compensation disclosures from the 2024 proxy season to identify CEO compensation trends of interest.

Our research found a median increase in total direct compensation of 6% in FY2023 at the 21 largest public E&P companies, substantially lower than increases noted in other general industry studies. At the same time, these companies generated nearly $2B more EBITDA at the median than the S&P 500. Check our article for more data and analysis providing an in depth look at total compensation, incentive payouts and incentive plan design.

Zayla analyzed and compiled oil and gas CEO compensation trends from recent 2023 proxy season to see if pay criticism compared to the broader market is warranted.

03/21/2024

We look forward to the 2024 edition of ECI's Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Compensation Survey. If your organization is interested in participating in the gold standard of E&P compensation surveys, please follow the link below to apply to participate.

https://effectivecompensation.com/Home/Contact

02/15/2024

The relationship between CEO pay and company size has been well vetted for many years through statistical research. However, the metric for determining size is critical.

In our latest article we analyzed the top 1,500 public companies over the prior five years to draw correlation conclusions. Check out our part 2 in the series: "What Matters in CEO Pay?" entitled "Size & CEO Pay".

Part 2 of our "What Matters in CEO Pay" discussing the correlation between company size (revenue specifically) and CEO pay.

01/22/2024

We are excited to announce that we have acquired Effective Compensation Inc, the provider of the well known ECI Oil & Gas Compensation Survey!

If you are interested in learning more about the ECI Survey, read more here: https://zayla.com/services/executive-employee-compensation/eci/

Denver-based ECI founder Terry Isselhardt will continue as ECI president.

12/06/2023

In short, the market is volatile and predictions are difficult!
Over the past year, as we have worked with our clients on compensation strategy matters, we have been gathering key insights into what is on the minds of leaders around the US. We have also been busy developing predictive compensation models to forecast what’s ahead.

Our observations and recommendations were developed to help company boards and executives get ahead of volatile and unpredictable market conditions and enable them to attract, retain and motivate the best talent available.

Zayla is helping compensation committees, boards, and executives get ahead of the volatile market conditions with this list of considerations.

11/14/2023

in the sector remains a topic of keen interest and occasional debate. Many assume that working for a cause should mean lower salaries and little to no opportunities.

However, the reality is that competitive compensation is critical to attracting and retaining talented professionals who can make the most significant impact.

This post looks into the crucial aspects of providing market-competitive compensation while balancing budget and legal constraints.
https://zayla.com/nonprofit-compensation-primer-what-you-should-know/

10/31/2023

Executive compensation is a hot topic in the corporate governance world. The discussion and evaluation of the fairness of executive pay practices has ramped up considerably since the arrival of Dodd-Frank, evolving as investor expectations and disclosure trends among public issuers have changed.

Admittedly, we are a touch early in thinking about the next disclosure cycle, but as this blog post explains the differences between reported and realizable compensation, we would encourage readers to envision how they might incorporate both perspectives in future compensation disclosures (and internal communications) to better inform their audiences on the true value and linkage of pay programs and company performance.

Our article: https://zayla.com/realizable-compensation