Graef S Bud Crystal

There is something medieval about Bud Crystal. Balding and pudgy like some wine-making friar, he might have burned for heresy in a less indifferent age. Strange as it may seem today, his is a morality tale. As a crusader dedicated to harrowing the corporate greed he misspent a lifetime abetting, Crystal follows in a great medieval tradition. St. Godric of Finchal grew prosperous in 16 years of business until he saw the light and gave everything to the poor. St.

There is something medieval about Bud Crystal. Balding and pudgy like some wine-making friar, he might have burned for heresy in a less indifferent age. Strange as it may seem today, his is a morality tale. As a crusader dedicated to harrowing the corporate greed he misspent a lifetime abetting, Crystal follows in a great medieval tradition. St. Godric of Finchal grew prosperous in 16 years of business until he saw the light and gave everything to the poor. St.

Under pressure from shareholder activists, the board of Occidental Petroleum Corp. has prohibited future "golden parachutes" and accepted the resignation of company Chairman Ray Irani from its executive compensation committee. The actions were announced Monday by the United Shareholders Assn., a 65,000-member group based in Washington that lobbies for a greater stockholder voice in corporate affairs.

Fluor Corp., keeping an earlier promise, paid a bonus to only one of its 20 top executives in 1997, penalizing the rest for a year of falling profits and plunging stock value, the company's new proxy report shows. It was the first time in more than a decade that the Irvine-based engineering and construction services firm's principal officers went without cash and stock option bonuses, which often doubled their base salaries.

Bill Gates may be the richest person in America, but is he also one of the most underpaid? The latest "Crystal Report" newsletter from San Rafael-based executive compensation expert Graef S. (Bud) Crystal lists the Microsoft Corp. founder and chief executive as underpaid to the tune of about $5.4 million in 1993. Crystal came to that conclusion by comparing how well Microsoft performed for its shareholders versus the $418,000 in direct compensation Gates received.

In the annals of weird job titles, Mossimo Giannulli's new Dilbertesque moniker, Visionary, is definitely out there. The founder of struggling apparel maker Mossimo Inc. revealed his new title on Thursday, adding to the growing list of quirky corporate classifications. Another Irvine surf wear maker, Rusty Apparel, has a Vibe Guy, who is the company's arbiter of what's hip and cool. Then there's Diedrich Coffee's former chairman, Martin Diedrich, who is currently Chief Coffee Officer.

In the annals of weird job titles, Mossimo Giannulli's new Dilbertesque moniker, Visionary, is definitely out there. The founder of struggling apparel maker Mossimo Inc. revealed his new title on Thursday, along with the announcement that John Brincko would succeed him as chief executive and that the Irvine company had a big fourth-quarter loss. But there are other titles that rival its strangeness.