Louisiana Highest-Paid CEOs in 2021

Zayla Partners recently conducted a market study on CEO executive compensation at public companies within the state of Louisiana.  Utilizing data from proxy statements filed in 2022, Zayla noted various key findings on Louisiana’s top paid CEOs. As the 2023 proxy season continues and filings are made, we will continue to monitor new filings to provide updated observations and perspectives.

Pay Starts with Z™

Where Did This Data Come From?

Compensation information for fiscal year 2021 from the companies listed below was gathered from SEC filings made available between January 1, 2022 – December 31, 2022.  Analyzing summary compensation table values for 18 CEOs , Zayla noted companies reported an average total CEO pay of $3,285,000. Median total direct compensation for Louisiana CEOs was $1,915,000.

How Much Did Public CEOs in Louisiana Make in 2021?

Louisiana public company CEOs received an average of their total compensation in base salary (573,000). Short and long-term incentives account for more than half of total pay – 55%. Growing concerns about the alignment of CEO pay with shareholder performance has been a key driver of the heavy emphasis on incentive pay as a part of total pay packages.

Top 10 Paid CEOs In Louisiana 2021:

CompanyNameSalaryTotal Annual IncentiveStock AwardsOption AwardsChg Pension NQDC Excess EarningsAll OtherTotal CompensationRevenue (millions)Industry
Entergy CorporationLeo P. Denault$1,289,538 $2,457,000 $7,383,591 $1,602,462 $4,178,300 $134,853 $17,045,744 $11,743Utilities
Amedisys, Inc.Paul B. Kusserow$900,000 $158,895 $7,245,979 $0 $0 $43,383 $8,343,257 $316Healthcare
Lamar Advertising CompanySean E. Reilly$700,000 $800,000 $4,035,240 $0 $0 $399,518 $5,934,758 $1,791Real Estate
Pool CorporationPeter D. Arvan$525,000 $2,100,000 $2,889,832 $0 $0 $60,552 $5,575,384 $5,296Consumer Discretionary
Lumen Technologies, Inc.Kate Johnson$184,840 $1,329,129 $3,013,700 $0 $0 $254,461 $4,778,130 $19,687Communication Services
H&E Equipment Services, Inc.Bradley W. Barber$745,885 $690,155 $1,343,947 $0 $0 $74,906 $2,854,893 $1,063Industrials
Origin Bancorp, Inc.Drake Mills$835,800 $561,976 $500,031 $0 $451,556 $58,872 $2,408,235 $289Financials
Business First Bancshares, Inc.David R. “Jude” Melville, III$612,500 $550,000 $676,478 $0 $0 $186,502 $2,025,480 $10Financials
AMERISAFE, Inc.G. Janelle Frost$681,000 $194,085 $1,029,041 $0 $0 $23,715 $1,927,841 $182Financials
Viemed Healthcare, Inc.Casey Hoyt$470,000 $449,750 $138,822 $819,729 $0 $23,512 $1,901,813 $117Health Care

Top 10 Paid CEOs Comparisons

CEO Compensation Mix for Louisiana
CEO-Total-Comp-LA-v2

Majority of Louisiana Public Companies are in the Financials Industry.

Across the 18 company universe analyzed, Zayla noted the Financials Industry was most represented, with 8 public companies.  Amongst those, the top 3 highest paid CEOs received an aggregate of $6.4MM in total compensation.

  1. Origin Bancorp, Inc.:
    CEO Total Compensation is $2,408,200 and company assets = $7.8B
  2. Business First Bancshares, Inc.:
    CEO Total Compensation is $2,025,480 and company assets = $4.7B
  3. AMERISAFE Inc.:
    CEO Total Compensation is $1,927,800 and company assets = $1.4B

Diversity in the CEO Seat

Among the 18 CEOs analyzed, Zayla notes that 16 were men and 2 were women.

LA CEO gender diversity
Entergy-CEO

For fiscal year 2021, The Highest Paid CEO in Louisiana:

Leo P. Denault is CEO of Entergy Corporation. 
This was largely driven by the impact of retention incentives granted to the executive beginning in July 2021.

Salary: $1,289,538
Stock Awards: $7,383,591
Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation: $2,457,000
All Other: $134,900
TOTAL COMPENSATION: $17,045,744
*Based on 2021 findings

Highest Paid CEOs in Louisiana

CompanyNameSalaryTotal Annual IncentiveStock AwardsOption AwardsChg Pension NQDC Excess EarningsAll OtherTotal CompensationRevenue (millions)Industry
Entergy CorporationLeo P. Denault$1,289,538 $2,457,000 $7,383,591 $1,602,462 $4,178,300 $134,853 $17,045,744 $11,743Utilities
Amedisys, Inc.Paul B. Kusserow$900,000 $158,895 $7,245,979 $0 $0 $43,383 $8,343,257 $316Financials
Lamar Advertising CompanySean E. Reilly$700,000 $800,000 $4,035,240 $0 $0 $399,518 $5,934,758 $1,791Real Estate
Pool CorporationPeter D. Arvan$525,000 $2,100,000 $2,889,832 $0 $0 $60,552 $5,575,384 $5,296Consumer Discretionary
Lumen Technologies, Inc.Kate Johnson$184,840 $1,329,129 $3,013,700 $0 $0 $254,461 $4,778,130 $19,687Communication Services
H&E Equipment Services, Inc.Bradley W. Barber$745,885 $690,155 $1,343,947 $0 $0 $74,906 $2,854,893 $1,063Industrials
Origin Bancorp, Inc.Drake Mills$835,800 $561,976 $500,031 $0 $451,556 $58,872 $2,408,235 $289Financials
Business First Bancshares, Inc.David R. “Jude” Melville, III$612,500 $550,000 $676,478 $0 $0 $186,502 $2,025,480 $10Financials
AMERISAFE, Inc.G. Janelle Frost$681,000 $194,085 $1,029,041 $0 $0 $23,715 $1,927,841 $182Financials
Viemed Healthcare, Inc.Casey Hoyt$470,000 $449,750 $138,822 $819,729 $0 $23,512 $1,901,813 $117Health Care
Investar Holding CorporationJohn J. D’Angelo$538,451 $277,549 $224,998 $149,994 $0 $41,165 $1,232,157 $73Financials
Crown Crafts, Inc.E. Randall Chestnut$465,728 $417,150 $0 $0 $0 $75,396 $958,724 $79Consumer Discretionary
Globalstar, Inc.David B. Kagan$543,225 $150,000 $165,600 $0 $0 $13,172 $871,997 $124Communication Services
Red River Bancshares, Inc.R. Blake Chatelain$452,100 $335,057 $37,928 $0 $0 $27,176 $852,261 $94Financials
Home Bancorp, Inc.John W. Bordelon$408,904 $225,000 $73,540 $14,321 $0 $113,620 $835,385 $125Financials
Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of LouisianaJames R. Barlow$291,325 $167,327 $0 $0 $0 $119,335 $577,987 $21Financials
First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc.Alton B. Lewis, Jr.$396,250 $133,902 $0 $0 $0 $21,089 $551,249 $98Financials
Catalyst Bancorp, Inc.Joseph B. Zanco$267,538 $100,000 $0 $0 $0 $83,206 $450,744 $1Real Estate

ABOUT OUR DATA
Compensation data was aggregated from proxy statements and annual reports filed during the period January 1, 2022 – December 31, 2022. Zayla is a compensation consulting firm serving public, private, not-for-profit and public administration organizations across the United States, including HoustonDallas/Fort WorthAustin/San Antonio, and Denver.

SIMILAR ANALYSIS
Highest Paid CEOsDallas/Fort WorthAustin/San AntonioDenverHouston

SOURCES
S&P Capital IQ
Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) filings