A little-known tech firm has shattered Oregon pay records, handing its new CEO a staggering $94 million package, some 1,300 times more than the average employee's annual wage, in one of the most eye-popping corporate deals of the year.
The board of Lattice, a Hillsboro chipmaker, approved the payout to veteran tech executive Ford Tamer last September, luring him from investment firm Francisco Partners with a one-time, performance-based stock grant.
The move comes less than a year after Lattice's stock plunged 15% in a single day - erasing $1.6 billion in value - when turnaround architect Jim Anderson abruptly resigned to lead a larger company.
Investors cheered the hire with shares surging 12% the day Tamer's appointment was announced, adding $762 million in market value.
Shareholders seem to approve. Over the last year Lattice's stock price has risen by almost 32%.
