That's Salem's lot

THE Canal & River Trust (CaRT) Marketing and Fundraising Director, Simon Salem, is one of three ‘fat cat' executive directors who will leave the Trust in 2015, writes Allan Richards.

The beleaguered director has confirmed that he will leave next June, three years before his normal retirement date, to ‘fulfil a life-time's ambition to travel the world by train'. One unconfirmed report suggests he is already on gardening leave.

Stripping power

December's NABO News, The magazine of the National Association of Boat Owners, quotes a recent narrowboatworld article saying ‘CaRT is replacing its Interim Head of Customer Services, Dean Davis, and its Finance Director, Philip Ridal. Salaries for the new joiners will be around £100,000 and £150,000 respectively (both plus benefits). These are two positions of nine that currently report to CaRT's chief executive, who has been systematically stripping power from executive directors and placing it in the hands of non-executive staff who report straight to him'.

The article was slightly inaccurate in that Richard Parry, CaRT's Chief Executive, actually has ten (not nine) direct reports. Only four of those direct reports are ex BW executive directors—the so called ‘fat cats'.

Simon Salem, who has been reported as looking increasingly harassed of late, is a typical example of the way in which Richard Parry has been stripping power from directors.

Remuneration

BW's last accounts (2011/12) record Simon Salem's remuneration for the year as £158,306.

Believe it or not, that made him the second lowest paid of BW's eight directors at that time.

However, in terms of money accumulating in his pension fund, he was ranked number two (just behind CEO Robin Evans). His pension pot was a staggering £1.3 millions which, if he had retired at the end of that financial year, would have provided him with a pension of £71,000 per year for life plus a significant lump sum payment.

Forced out

With the appointment of Richard Parry, on a total remuneration package less than half of his predecessor, things have started to change. Directors not performing according to expectations are being forced out.

‘Legal director' Nigel Johnson was the first casualty with his ‘early retirement' announced just hours after narrowboatworld questioned why he had signed a witness statement (£105m or £130m?) claiming that the cost of maintaining CaRT's waterways was £25 millions more than Operations Director, Vince Moran had stated at a press briefing held at Hatton.

Zero from BWML

Then, it was the turn of Finance Director, Philip Ridal, who had gained BW Board approval to invest millions in its marina company, BWML. His departure was announced shortly after narrowboatworld revealed that the planned £1.4 millions contribution from BWML to CaRT (The BWML disaster) last year was zero.

Now it is Simon Salem's turn to go having been stripped of much of his directorates responsibilities.

Transferred

Responsibility for long term moorings was transferred to Property Director, Stuart Mills.

Head of Boating, Sally ‘I will never retire' Ash was retired and not replaced.

Mr Salem's responsibility for ‘Customer Services', including boating, was transferred to a newly created position, ‘Head of Customer Services', reporting directly to Richard Parry.

These measures followed the narrowboat revelation that CaRT's annual report attempted to hide a 3,000 fall in the number of boats on CaRT's waterways (Falling boat numbers) by claiming a slight increase.

Board papers suggest that the author was Simon Salem.

Twin poison chalices

Stripped of much of his responsibilities, the director with the twin poison chalices of his failing fundraising initiatives (which are performing at between a quarter and a third of CaRT's long term expectations) and volunteering which recently published figures suggest might be decreasing in terms of volunteer days.

Little wonder he has thrown in the towel three years before he was due to retire.

However, being on the the BW ‘gravy train' for so long means that Mr Salem can now afford to travel the world first class.

... by train!

[Whilst not formally announced, it is understood that Vince Moran will be a third ‘fat cat' Executive Director leaving CaRT in 2015.]