New Siebel CEO to receive $1 million annual salary

Siebel Systems will pay new Chief Executive Officer George Shaheen an annual salary of $1 million, under an employment agreement substantially the same as the one it signed a year ago with deposed CEO Mike Lawrie.

Shaheen’s agreement with the San Mateo, Calif., software maker entitles him to options on 2 million shares of company stock, with a five-year vesting schedule and a strike price set at the market value of Siebel’s shares on the date of the options grant. Shaheen will also receive 350,000 shares of restricted company stock, 150,000 of which vest June 30. The remaining portion will vest in two years.

Siebel’s shares (SEBL) closed trading Monday on the Nasdaq exchange at $8.63, valuing Shaheen’s stock grant at $3 million.

Shaheen is also eligible for a target bonus of 125 percent of his base salary, which Siebel’s board can increase to 200 percent if it judges he has “substantially exceeded” goals.

Lawrie received the same salary, options and stock grant as Shaheen, according to a copy of his offer letter that Siebel included in regulatory filings. In the event of Lawrie’s termination, his agreement called for him to receive two years target salary and bonus — a payout of $4.5 million — along with termination of restrictions on his stock grant and immediate vesting of 40 percent of his 2-million-shares option grant.

Siebel’s shares have sunk since Lawrie was named Siebel’s CEO on May 3, 2004. They ended trading that day, before the announcement of Lawrie’s appointment, at $10.62.