Nevermind the Jet, Fire Up the Limo Some executives like to fly. Others prefer to drive. Or, make that be driven. Bank of New York Mellon Chairman and Chief Executive Robert P. Kelly is clearly in the latter category. And so, too, are other top executives at the bank. According to the proxy statement filed by the company, Mr. Kelly spent less than $12,000 on his personal use of the company’s corporate jet. Given how expensive corporate jets are, that works out to a few hours of time in the air. Compare that with the $185,982 that Bank of New York spent last year to provide Mr. Kelly with a car and driver. Mr. Kelly wasn’t the only Bank of New York executive to favor cars over planes: the company spent $149,835 last year to provide Thomas P. Gibbons, who was promoted from chief risk officer to chief financial officer on July 1, with his car and driver; for Gerald Hassell, the company’s president, the expense was $189,959; for Steven Elliott, senior vice chairman, $110,854, and Bruce Van Saun, the company’s former chief finance officer, $160,431. In the filing, the company said that those costs included the salary and benefits for the driver, depreciation, and incidentals like parking and fuel. The company said it provides the perk for “personal security” reasons and because it allows for a “more effective use of travel time.” But that wasn’t the oddest perk in the filing. The company said it spent $106,521 to reimburse Mr. Elliott “for time not spent at [an] apartment in New York.” What exactly does that mean? According to the filing, Mr. Elliott lives in Pittsburgh but had access to an apartment in New York. Still, it’s not entirely clear from the filing why Mr. Elliott received money for not staying in the bank’s apartment.
He pays for the apartment, and BNY pays him back. Come on put your limo cap on and drive me somewhere.