New president of Enterprise Florida gets bonus


  • August 20, 2015
  • /   staff reports
  • /   economy

Florida’s Historic Capitol and Florida State Capitol, Tallahassee / Michael Rivera, Wikimedia Commons

TALLAHASSEE — Enterprise Florida's president received a $50,000 bonus Thursday, six months after signing a $265,000-a-year contract to lead the public-private agency.

Bill Johnson, the former PortMiami leader who officially started as president and CEO of Enterprise Florida on March 1, could have landed a full $100,000 bonus that's allowed under his contract. The agency exceeded all 52 benchmarks and 18 contractual goals set in the past year.

But members of the agency's board agreed to prorate the bonus to his time served.

"It's really based on (Johnson's) performance and the staff's as well," said Marlin Hutchens, a regional vice president at Walgreen Co, who is a member of Enterprise Florida's Finance and Compensation Committee.

Board member Jason Steele, of Smith & Associates in Melbourne, pointed to Johnson's work in helping sway Harris Corp., a Fortune 500 company with 28,000 employees, to maintain its corporate headquarters in Melbourne after purchasing the McLean, Va.-based Exelis Inc.

"Virginia was coming at us, and I can tell you that Gov. (Rick) Scott and Bill Johnson answered them, incredibly well, at all hours of the night, constantly," Steele said.

Harris Corp. Senior Vice President Sheldon Fox is a member of the Enterprise Florida board.

Hutchens also said Johnson has been working for the agency since January, when he was recommended for the job by Scott.

Johnson's bonus is part of a $765,000 total that will be spread out among 79 employees at the economic-development agency, which receives state and private funding.

Enterprise Florida Vice Chairman Alan Becker said he understands it's "a lot of money," but added the agency's employees don't receive state benefits and could be making more in the private sector.

"They do not have the state retirement plan," Becker said. "We are competing for this talent with all sorts of people. We've lost a lot of people in the last year that have gone to even local economic-development organizations to do the same job for a lot more money."

Becker added that the money for the bonuses comes from private-sector funds.

The bonuses were awarded the same day Scott urged the board to lobby legislators to increase the amount of money that could be used by the public-private agency for business incentives.

Last August, the board approved a separate $765,000 bonus package that included $120,000 for former president Gray Swoope, who left for the private sector earlier this year.

In Swoope's case, the board used its discretion to exceed the $100,000 bonus cap.

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