PRSA's Murray Got $127K in Bonuses in 2013-14

Bill Murray

Bill Murray, who resigned as CEO of PR Society of America May 31, 2014, collected $127,188 in bonus/incentive pays in 2013/14 although revenues of $11.1 million in 2014 were lower than 2006 revenues of $11.4M, the year before he joined.

Murray, who announced his resignation on Friday, March 7, 2014, was paid a total of $430,973 in 2013, including bonus/incentive of $63,058, and $238,635 in 2014, including bonus/incentive of $64,130.

He gave no reason for his mid-contract departure except that “The time has come for me to leave PRSA and pursue new challenges.” Members were shocked because the 2013 Assembly had given him the extra title of CEO. The elected chair or president of the Society always had that title.

We theorized that the combative stance that Murray took vs. the O’Dwyer Co., including attempts to discredit the company by posting emails on PR media websites, was at odds with the culture of Starbucks, whose VP-communication James Olson was co-chair of the 2014 Society conference in Washington, D.C.

Starbucks positions itself as a place for “civil discourse and debate,” saying it is the “company with a conscience.” It stands for politeness, good manners, courtesy and caring.

Murray on Monday, March 10, 2014 joined the National Coffee Assn. as president/CEO. NCA at that time was headed by Starbucks SVP Willard “Dub” Hay. Starbucks had no doubt made a new home for Murray.

Record Lateness for IRS Form 990

The Murray bonuses are only now becoming public because the Society filed its IRS Form 990 on a record late date—Nov. 5, 2015. Final deadline is Nov. 15. Its audit was published in April so there is no excuse whatever for holding up the 990 except to conceal executive pay, in our opinion. Assembly delegates again did not see the current 990.

Joseph Truncale

Despite faxed, emailed and regular mail requests for the 990 by the O’Dwyer Co. since mid-summer, we did not get a copy of the document until Nov. 25, which is ten day after the legal deadline for supplying the 990 to anyone who asks for it.

The Society’s CPA firm is O’Connor Davies--not one of the “Big Four” CPA firms. Until 2000, the Society’s auditors were Ernst & Young and Deloitte Touche, two of the big four.

O’Connor Davies allows a major crunching of one of accounting’s bedrock rules—income is booked as earned. The claimed net assets of $5.3 million includes about $2.5 million of unearned dues income. Conventional bookkeeping would cut net assets by this amount. It’s not illegal what is being done but its not the best accounting, either.

Staff CPA Gets 13.7% Raise

CFO Philip Bonaventura got a 13.7% raise to a total of $286,635. Base pay went to $232,773 from $212,291.

Joining the list of the top seven highly paid staffers is controller Wai Cheung, who had total pay of $158,354. So members are paying a total of $444,989 for what we regard as substandard, misleading accounting that includes delaying publication of the 990 until the last possible minute and withholding it from the Assembly.

The 2015 Assembly took yet another dive, passing a motion that gives the board the power to set dues in the next five years without seeking Assembly approval. Dues may be raised no more than 5% of current dues of $255 ($12.75).

Jeneen Garcia, formerly VP/PRSSA/academic affairs, got the new title of VP, education, and a 13.8% raise to a total of $180,815. John Robinson, VP/corporate development and the third highest paid staffer, got a 6.6% raise to $214,876. Alex Ortiz, VP/information tech, was raised 4.2% to $158,354.

Not on the list was former VP-PR Stephanie Cegieski, who was dismissed on Monday, July 27 after three years with the Society. She had been given the title of Arthur Yann, 48, who died suddenly on June 13, 2013 but not his pay which was $191,000 in his last full year. Her base pay was $100K.

Top Seven Staffers Take 27% of Payroll

Jeneen Garcia

The seven staffers listed on Form 990 took $1,438,844 of total payroll of $5,321,535 in 2014 or 27.03%. Had Murray stayed the full year, it would have been 30.4%.

Staffer pay packages totaled 47.2% of revenues of $11.2M, which had been a decline from $11.6M in 2013. We consider that a high proportion for a non-profit the size of the Society. Staff pays are often in the 35%-40% area.

Switching Jeneen Garcia from VP/PRSSA/academic affairs to the new title of “VP, education,” raises the question of what is meant by “education.”

It is the opposite of education for the Society to deny the O’Dwyer Co. the right to exhibit its five news and informational products at the Society’s annual conference. This deprives the nearly 2,000 regular attendees and 1,000 students from learning about the O’Dwyer website, weekly newsletter, monthly magazine, Directory of PR Firms and PR Buyer’s Guide. Marriott allows this boycott to take place year after year in its hotels.

Laurent Laurence

Attempts to interface with CEO Joseph Truncale and new PR director Laurent Laurence have gone nowhere.

A breakfast meeting was arranged with an O’Dwyer staffer at 8:30 a.m. Dec. 3 at the Felice restaurant, 15 Gold st. near the 33 Maiden lane h.q. of the Society. The insinuation of such a meeting is that O’Dwyer staffers do not merit being talked to during regular business hours.

Truncale and Lawrence refused to provide any new information or answer questions such as what are the next sites of the national conference. They met all questions with the reply that the Society simply does not have “a relationship” with the O’Dwyer Co. Further attempts at any contact via phone calls or emails were discouraged.

Truncale, who joined in January, has given only one interview so far and that was May 1 for the Society’s Tactics monthly.