Time Warner Telecom COO renegotiates pay

Less than a year after signing a three-year employment contract with Time Warner Telecom, Chief Operating Officer John Blount signed a new contract this week, giving him a base salary at least 47% higher than he earned a year ago as executive vice president of operations.

When Blount was promoted to COO in June 2005, the company boosted his base pay nearly 25% to $360,000 under a three-year contract. This week he signed a new, four-year contract, raising his base salary another 18% to $425,000 and upping his annual bonus target from 75% of his base salary (specified in the 2005 contract) to 100%. Blount has been with Time Warner Telecom for more than 10 years.

Set to report its fourth-quarter financials next Tuesday, Time Warner Telecom trimmed its net loss 14% to $23.4 million (or $0.20 per share) in last year’s third quarter, the first quarter in which Blount served as COO.

Blount’s promotion is one of a few executive elevations at the company in recent months. Concomitant with Blount’s 2005 raise and promotion, the company also promoted Catherine Hemmer from executive vice president of corporate operations and engineering to senior EVP of operations, engineering and technology, raising her base pay 14% to $315,700.

Last April, when the company named Mark Peters its new chief financial officer, he signed a three-year contract giving him a minimum base salary of $225,000. His previous salary as vice president and treasurer is undisclosed. Peters was named acting CFO in November 2004 when the company’s previous CFO, David Rayner, left to become CFO of EchoStar Communications.

Chief Executive Officer Larissa Herda signed a five-year contract in late 2004 giving her a minimum annual salary of $515,000 and a target bonus of 100% of her base pay.