Cisco's CEO gets a raise

Cisco Systems chief executive John Chambers has gotten a hefty pay raise for the fiscal year 2005, according to a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company decided to increase his base salary to $350,000 per year. Since 2001, Chambers has received $1 per year as his base salary. Chambers asked for the reduced pay while the company and the entire industry experienced a downturn. In 2001, he refused to accept a bonus.

Base salary only reflects a piece of Chambers' total compensation. For the year that ended July 31, Chambers received compensation including bonus remuneration of about $1.9 million, according to SEC papers. He also exercised 2 million options valued at approximately $38.3 million. In August, an SEC filing showed Chambers was granted another 1.5 million stock options.