TOP Sponsors CEO Pay; Atos Origin Opens London Center; Sberbank, Visa Partner

TOP Sponsors’ Executives Pay Revealed

Total compensation for executives from TOP sponsors Coca-Cola, Dow Chemical, General Electric, Procter & Gamble and Visa was released in a New York Times report Friday on the pay of major U.S. corporate leaders.

Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent had the highest total compensation with $19.2 million in 2010, a 30 percent increase from $14.8 million in 2009. According to the report, Kent was the 20th highest paid CEO and the highest of the TOP sponsors.

New TOP sponsor Dow Chemical reported its CEO Andrew Liveris had total compensation of $17.7 million in 2009, up 13 percent from $15.7 million in 2009.

Procter & Gamble, another newly appointed TOP sponsor, reported its CEO, Robert McDonald, had total compensation of $13.1 million in 2010. Data from 2009 was not available.

General Electric’s CEO Jeffrey Immelt saw the largest increase with a 175 percent increase in total compensation in 2010. Immelt had total compensation of $15.1 million in 2010, up from $5.5 million in 2009. Immelt has served as GE’s CEO since 2001. He’s worked at GE since 1982.

Visa’s CEO, Joseph Saunders, was the only TOP sponsor CEO reported to see a decrease in total compensation. He made only $12 million in 2010, down 3 percent from $12.4 million in 2009.

The total compensation includes salary, cash bonuses based on performance, option awards and other compensation.

Compensation research company Equilar compiled the data from corporate filings.

Atos Origin Opens London 2012 Center

TOP sponsor Atos Origin opened its Equipment Deployment Center (EDC) for the London 2012 Games last week.

Technology equipment built at the EDC will be sent to the various London 2012 venues for test events and the Olympics and Paralympics.

Technology equipment for competition venues such as Greenwich Park and for the Technology Operations Center is being built at the EDC now, which is fully operational.

"We are delighted to be opening the Equipment Deployment Center on schedule," Michele Hyron, chief integrator at Atos Origin for London 2012, said in a press release.

"In the next 15 months it will play a key role in the technology preparations for the Games in ensuring that we have the right equipment, with the right set up at the right venues."

Atos Origin will work from the EDC with the London 2012 Technology department, Acer and BT.

"The Equipment Deployment Center is critical in these preparations and our joint team from London 2012, Atos Origin, Acer and BT will play an important role in ensuring everything is in the right place at the right time for the test events and the Games," Gerry Pennell, London 2012 CIO, said in a press release.

Sberbank, Visa Partner for Sochi 2014

TOP sponsor Visa has joined with Sochi 2014 partner Sberbank to produce a Visa credit card with an animated 3D image of the Sochi 2014 mascot, a polar bear.

"We are doing our best to make our product offers interesting for different target audiences so that we involve as many our fellow citizens as we can with the Olympics," Stanislav Kuznetsov, Sberbank’s Deputy Chairman of the Board, said in a press release.

"We are using innovative approaches in developing our new products. The new 3D Sberbank Visa is a perfect example of an innovative product for the most innovative Olympics in history."

The 3D technology on a credit card is available for the first time in Russia.

Metal Miner Backs Aussie Olympians

Rio Tinto wants Australian athletes to be the ones winning its medals at the London Olympics.

A day after being unveiled Wednesday as the Official Mining and Metals Provider of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the multinational medal-maker announced Thursday a partnership with the Australian Olympic Committee.

"Rio Tinto’s sponsorship makes it possible for our Australian athletes to achieve their lifelong goals and hopefully Olympic Games success in 2012," AOC president John Coates said in a statement.

"We hope that through the support shown by Rio Tinto, we can inspire and encourage more young Australians to participate in sport and beour Olympians of tomorrow."

Based in London and Melbourne, the company suppliedthe metal for the 2002 medals and will provide the gold, silverand copper to produce 4,700 medals for the 2012 Summer Games.

Banks Eye Rio Olympic Bonds

Interest appears high in the $2 billion worth of Olympic bonds Rio de Janeiro plans to issue ahead of the 2016 Summer Games.

Reuters reported Wednesday as many as 10 banks want the job of managing the massive sell-off.

"The city's financial position is pretty good at the moment, and we feel there's great demand for an eventual bond sale," Rio finance secretary Eduarda La Rocque told the news agency.

The state securities will mature over 10 years and will be sold in four waves of $500 million each.

Rio is coupling the loans with tax revenue to pay for the raft of public works required to stage an Olympics.

Billionaire Pledges Billion for YOG

Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov pledged $1.45 billion for sports in Dagestan, if the region wins the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.

Kerimov said the money would go to building a 42,000 seat stadium for the YOG, and other smaller stadia, as well as several new four and five star hotels.

Reports say Kerimov is worth nearly $8 billion.

Nanjing is the host of the 2014 YOG.

The IOC will select a 2018 host in 2013.

Briefs …

… The FEI signed a four-year contract through 2014 with the European Broadcasting Union. The deal ensures television coverage of equestrian sport in Europe.

…Delta Air Lines is the official airline for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association after a new deal. Delta has served as a partner since 2007.

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With reporting from Isia Reaves Wilcox

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