As a thank you for signing a new contract in the previous year, Nuance gave its CEO a hefty stock award of $12.9 million, which was double what he made in previous years.
Nuance is an under-the-radar company that makes industry-leading voice-to-text and speech recognition software. Its technology is reportedly the secret sauce behind Siri, Apple's new voice-powered iPhone virtual assistant.
Nuance said it awarded Ricci the big pay package because he didn't get a salary bump after signing last year's contract. His salary remained at $575,000, and he took home a $460,000 bonus.
After a solid year in 2010, Nuance said Ricci deserved such a big compensation package, "although these awards bring Mr. Ricci's total compensation significantly above the 75th percentile of the peer group."
