Pfizer shareholders to get vote on executive pay

By MARLEY SEAMAN AP Health Writer

NEW YORK (AP) - Drugmaker Pfizer Inc. said Thursday its shareholders will have input on compensation for company executives starting in 2010.

Shareholders will have a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation every two years, Pfizer said, meaning they can ratify or vote against the compensation package for the company's CEO, chief financial officer and other top executives. That will begin with the company's next annual shareholder meeting, which is likely to be in April.

"Say-on-pay" measures are usually proposed by shareholders and not by companies themselves. However Microsoft Corp. made a similar move in September, when its board proposed shareholders be allowed to vote on executive compensation every three years.