P.A.M. CEO Daniel Cushman receives 8% pay increase

Daniel Cushman, president and CEO of Tontitown-based carrier P.A.M. Transportation Services, received an 8% salary increase in 2018, and his total compensation fell 31.6% to $1.68 million for the year, according to the company’s proxy statement. Cushman, who is 64 and has served as president and CEO since July 2009, earned a base salary of $610,430 in 2018, up from $565,448 in 2017.

P.A.M. on Tuesday (March 19) filed its proxy statement showing compensation for two executive officers and announced the company’s annual shareholders meeting will take place April 24.

Allen West, vice president of finance, chief financial officer, secretary and treasurer, received a 5.1% salary increase in 2018, and his total compensation increased 32.2% to $755,131. West, who is 51 and has served in the previous roles since June 2013, earned a base salary of $327,626 in 2018, up from $311,702 in 2017.

P.A.M.’s annual shareholders meeting will take place at 11 a.m., April 24, at 306 W. Seventh St. in Fort Worth, Texas. That’s The Fort Worth Club, a business, athletic and social club. The meeting previously was hosted in Warren, Mich., at Central Transport, a privately-held less-than-truckload carrier. Several members of the board have or had ties to its parent company, CenTra Inc.

Stockholders of record as of March 7 can vote on two proposals, and as of that date, owners of P.A.M.’s 5.917 million shares of stock were eligible to vote. The first proposal is on the election of nine board members, one more than the company had at the annual meeting in 2018. The company has recommended the reelection of the following board members: Frederick Calderone, Cushman, Scott Davis, Edwin Lukas, Franklin McLarty, Pete Montano, Manuel Moroun and chairman Matthew Moroun. The company also recommends the election of former U.S. representative Michael Bishop, R-Michigan, to the board. Bishop is a real estate broker and an attorney licensed to practice in Michigan, the District of Columbia and before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The company has 10 members, and directors Norman Harned and Daniel Sullivan plan to retire when their terms end April 24. Montano is the company’s newest member and joined the board in January. He is a dual citizen of the United States and Mexico and recently retired as vice president of sales for carrier Contract Freighters Inc. Lukas is the second newest member of the board after joining in October 2018.

Following was the compensation for the directors in 2018: Calderone, $40,033; Davis, $50,033; Harned, $44,033; Lukas, $7,500; McLarty, $44,033; Manuel Moroun, $140,033; Matthew Moroun, $115,033; and Sullivan, $44,033.

Matthew Moroun, president of a holding company for Detroit International Bridge Co. of Warren, Mich., owns 65.99%, or 3.905 million shares, of P.A.M and is the son of Manuel Moroun, CEO of CenTra. The 11 named directors and executive officers, including Matthew Moroun and Manuel Moroun, own 67.35% of company shares. Following are other stockholders who own at least 5% of company shares: Renaissance Technologies LLC of New York City owns 6.69%, or 396,074 shares, and Dimensional Fund Advisors LP of Austin, Texas, owns 6.58%, or 389,326 shares.

Shareholders also will vote on whether to appoint accounting company Grant Thornton LLP as P.A.M.’s 2019 auditor. Grant Thornton was the auditor for 2018.

Shares of P.A.M. (NASDAQ: PTSI) were trading Tuesday at $50.45, up 15 cents or 0.3%. In the past 52 weeks, the stock has ranged between $70 and $33.29.