Written by:
Shuang Yang

The Wall Street Journal’s CEO 2008 Compensation Survey

In the midst of the economic downturn in the past year, executive compensation on the whole declined as expected. According to a survey conducted by the Hay Group, a Philadelphia management consultant company, the median salary and bonus of CEOs from 200 large U.S. companies was $2.24 million, down 8.5% from the previous year. Factoring in stock, stock options, and other long-term incentives, the median total compensation package was $7.6 million, down 3.4%. The list was headed by a surprising name:

The biggest pay package in The Wall Street Journal's CEO 2008 compensation survey went to an India-born engineer who was granted equity initially valued at $103.5 million for a job he doesn't fully have yet.

Motorola Inc. hired Sanjay Jha as its co-CEO last August, intending to have him run its ailing cellphone unit and take it public as a separate company. The spin-off plan is on hold because of the credit crunch and the deteriorating finances of the unit.

To lure Mr. Jha from Qualcomm Inc., where he was the chief operating officer, Motorola granted him restricted stock and stock options. The equity grants provided nearly all of Mr. Jha's total direct compensation of $104 million, more than double the next-highest pay package.

Check here to see more about CEO compensation and how the CEOs of well-known companies fared in 2008.