How to Respond When Employee Equity Is Underwater

"Dissecting Compensation - A Primer on Understanding, Negotiating and Managing Pay"

A CMO Confidential Interview with Richard Sanderson, the Marketing, Sales, and Communications Practice Leader at Spencer Stuart. Richard starts with the basics of salary, bonus and equity and branches out to compensation mix, the various types of equity, negotiating best practices, and the "other" elements of an offer. Key topics include: why the devil is in the details; when and how to discuss compensation; the difference between dumb luck and bad luck; and why everyone should do a "multi-year cash flow analysis." Tune in to hear why you should always read the proxy statement and the importance of being prepared to explain how you are using AI.

In Part 2, host Mike Linton sits back down with Spencer Stuart Practice Leader Richard Sanderson to get tactical about comp negotiations, severance, equity, and managing your team through pay anxiety. If you’re a CMO (or headed there), this episode is your field guide to securing a fair offer and stewarding compensation conversations with your org.

Points of interest:

• Your moment of maximum leverage: why the verbal offer is the prime time to align on comp—and how to use that window without damaging trust.

• How different companies negotiate: spotting “full & fair” one-shot offers vs. multi-round negotiators—and how to work the process with your recruiter as a broker to keep heat and emotion out.

• Beyond base and bonus: what’s often negotiable (e.g., severance, sign-on/bridge, relocation, start date, work location, travel, even one-offs) and how to prioritize your asks.

• Severance norms & timing: what policies typically look like (e.g., 6–12 months in many cases), when to ask, and why it’s safest through the recruiter.

• Feeling underpaid? Building a data-backed case with market signals, peer benchmarks, recruiter insight—and how proxy statements can ground internal conversations.

• Underwater equity & team morale: acknowledging pain, reframing to a long-term vision, and understanding annual equity refresh dynamics (timing matters).

• Do the 5-year cash-flow analysis: compare current state vs. new offer (vesting, cliffs, bridge needs) so you don’t get surprised in Year 1–2.

• Today’s relocation reality: mortgage-rate math and why moves can be financially punitive—plan your package accordingly.

• Offer etiquette & reputation risk: why turning down a written offer is a red flag on process—and why reneging after signing can follow you.

• Be ready for the AI question: every senior marketing interview now probes AI use cases, impact, and CFO alignment—have crisp examples.

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If you missed Part 1, go watch that next—then subscribe for weekly conversations with leaders who’ve sat in the CMO chair.

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