Despite lengthy bankruptcy, Visteon's Stebbins earns more than any other MI-based CEO

There were some raised eyebrows after Ford CEO Alan Mulally raked in U.S. $26.5 million in 2010, even after the company realized a healthy profit and significantly improved sales. But while Mulally got a big cheque for being instrumental in the company's high-profile turnaround, he wasn't even the highest paid CEO in Michigan.

Automotive News is reporting that Visteon CEO Donald Stebbins pulled in $26.9 million in 2010, due in part to stock received as part of the supplier's bankruptcy reorganization. Stebbins' total compensation included a $21.2-million stock award, which was bolstered by the fact that shares of Visteon stock went from $49 in October to $66.90 at the end of last week.

Stebbins isn't the only Visteon executive to get a fat payday in 2010, as CFO William Quigley took in $11 million in compensation and VP Joy Greenway banked another $6 million. Executives weren't the only ones to benefit from Visteon's bankruptcy, either. Bondholders received shares that are currently worth $3 billion; a reported profit of $1.9 billion beyond their original investment.

Shareholders weren't so lucky. Visteon's old shares were cancelled as part of the bankruptcy, and those shares were replaced with only one million of the new shares, or 2.5 per cent of the company. That's about 61 cents per share of the old stock.

You can probably guess that the old shareholders feel slighted by the agreement. One unnamed source told Automotive News that it was unfair for Visteon executives to receive an alleged $114 million in total compensation for steering a company to bankruptcy. What say you?