Q&A: John Venator, Former Comptia CEO

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John Venator, current CEO of the Comptia Educational Foundation and former CEO of Comptia for nearly 20 years, spoke recently with Channelweb.com editors about his role at the organization and his controversial $1 million bonus in 2006 for doubling Comptia's membership. Venator was battling pneumonia and laryngitis at the time of the conversation, but talked at length. Following are excerpts from the conversation.

We conducted an informal survey of non-profit executive compensation, particularly focused on technology associations. And one year that really struck out here is that 2006 where you received $1.7 million in compensation, more than double the $676,584 in 2005. Can you talk about why the compensation changed so dramatically in 2006?

Venator: I can speak in generalities without violating the confidentiality section in my contract. The executive compensation committee determined about three years prior that they wished to establish a new membership challenge bonus that very specifically was based on reseller locations because at the same time we were involved in developing a more extensive, grass-roots, public policy effort and it was felt that the more Comptia could show that it was the large number of reseller local employers in those communities, they'd have more influence with congressmen and senators.

The program was specifically structured by the executive committee and the comp[ensation] committee and voted on subsequently by the full board after being vetted by an outside compensation consultant they hired, as well as being vetted by the CPA firm in terms of fairness and whatever else they asked them to. They asked the questions of them. I didn't.

The programs specifically included all resellers and all reseller locations. It included vendors and distributors. It excluded all associate members. We felt that while associate members were certainly going to be fairly important, and knew that we'd still be going after them because they are important to the strategy for expanding the certification programs, that for purpose of the bonus challenge, they were excluded. The board subsequently chose to hire an outside, I guess, validator, their CPA firm, to do quarterly written reports to monitor how the memberships were accounted and to validate they were included in the proper categories, etc. And once the board received verification about three years after the challenge was made, that the terms of the challenge had been met, the board then received a report from the CPA firm, the board voted to distribute the bonus. And in fact held a big celebration with a big sheet cake, and invited the whole staff to a champagne and cake party.

Can you talk about who proposed the bonus?

Venator: I don't know. It may have been [former CompTIA board member] Mark Romanowski [executive vice president of ASI System Integration, a New York solution provider]. He was a member of the executive committee/comp committee in Comptia that year. That was done in a meeting without me present, so I can't tell you. All I can tell you is that the chairman came back to me and said that's something that's been proposed. They were considering it. Was I going to be up to it? I told them, I said, the association over the years has given me many different challenges: financial totals, globalization, increasing certifications, increasing attendance at the Breakaway conference. And I said, "Each and every time, as you know, I have met and exceeded those goals." I said if you give us this goal, I'm going to do the same thing. Did I appreciate it? Of course. I can't go more than that because the rest of it was done with lawyers, with CPAs, with compensation specialists, in executive committee meetings without me present.

For clarity sake, it was a three-year challenge?

Venator: No. It was a five-year challenge, but by working darn hard and also marshalling the resources of staff and volunteers, we made the challenge in less than five years. Approximately three-plus years. We'd have to look up the exact. It didn't take five years. That's how long they gave us.

Do you remember the numbers? We have 8,000 members in 2002, and it jumped up to 20,000 members in 2005, and today you've got 2,160 members. Can you help clarify that?

Venator: From a ballpark, that may sound right. I know that we were over 20-some-thousand members using the system that the association, for almost 26 years, from the beginning, that was counting reseller locations. Recently, the board decided to make a change, which I fully support, to a different way of counting members not including locations. But historically for 26, almost 27 years, the board counted locations and reinforced their choice on several occasions. That would be documented in board minutes. Including the terms of the challenge they established, specifically saying it would be based on reseller locations.

Did the proposal come in 2003, and you met it in 2006 and it was paid in 2006? What was the exact timing?

Venator: Again, I don't know . . . When I accomplish things I put it behind me. In my last 10 years with the association, I had two five year contracts. It seems to me that when the board was preparing to offer me the new five year contract that took me up to the present. And I believe that was Dave Smith's chairmanship. [Smith is former Comptia chairman and current vice president of services at CompuCom Systems, a Dallas solution provider.] That's the place we'd have to look up and see what year Dave was chairman and then we could go back to board minutes and also determine when the board received the report from the auditor and decided that the terms had been met. The board itself voted to pay the bonus. And I also know the contract, when it was proposed, it had to be Dave Smith's year, I was also told because these things are done in an executive session without me present that the board vote was unanimous for the terms of the contract.

So the board vote was unanimous for the terms of the contract and for the membership bonus that effectively totaled a million dollars?

Venator: Yes.

NEXT: 'I'm not rich by any means'

So it was a million-dollar bonus target for doubling membership?

Venator: I believe the challenge was to take the membership to 15,000 and in fact we went beyond that because members that were not counted for the membership grant, we continued to grow those as well. So we exceeded 20,000 for several years based on the historic method of counting. But I think the challenge grant itself was for 15,000 members.

When you doubled this membership, it didn't show up in membership dues or income, right?

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Venator: No. I'm not saying that at all. I'm saying it showed up in many ways. It showed up in income from conferences. It showed up in income from certifications. It showed up in a number of ways. And obviously, again, the board felt it was a goal they wanted to achieve for a variety of reasons that they determined.

I want to make sure, and be very, very clear that you understand, in my 20 years with the association, I have never gone to the board and requested any increases in comp[ensation], or any bonuses.

I've always felt my work speaks for itself. Now every year the board gave me new challenges, new opportunities. Whether it be bottom line, income, put money into reserves, whether it be growing other aspects of the association. And this was just one that obviously they felt very special about and wanted to make sure it happened and wanted to make sure I understood it was a major, important issue with them. And to get my attention, they said they wanted to create this bonus program. And they did. I did not request it. I have never requested any increase in compensation. I have never requested any bonuses other than when they came to me and offered my contracts.

But with the change in the way membership is counted, it sounds like all your work was undone.

Venator: As far as the membership counts, yes and no. Because clearly it went up from 20 years ago. But the other thing is, however, if you look at the certification income, and you see the member versus non-member participation and certifications, clearly all those VentureTech and [TechSelect members] and others were using the fact that they were members to get the discounted price to put all those people through A+ and Network+ [certifications]. They were clearly using the member discount to get those certifications. That was one way we were able to grow our certifications so rapidly.

Do you think technology industry associations should be allowed to remain tax-exempt given the current economic climate?

Venator: I have no comprehension of that issue, or any issue why Comptia's tax-exempt status should be in jeopardy.

Do you feel your compensation has been fair?

Venator: I wasn't motivated by money. I've always enjoyed the pursuit, the challenge, the sale. I have been very grateful for what I consider a fabulous job that I love. I consider myself well-compensated. The compensation specialists have said in several cases that because [of] the time differences of when my contracts have been that, in fact, I was undercompensated. I have never gone back to the board and said, 'OK. Give me more money,' because I've never been motivated by money.

How wealthy are you at this point? How successful? How much did you earn over those years?

Venator: I'm not going to speak to compensation. I feel I was very fairly compensated. I'm not rich by any means. Until recently I've always driven Chevrolets and I've bought used cars. At ABCD [Association For Better Computer Dealers] my starting salary if I told you now you would find it embarrassing. I am not going to speak to that. I am not a wealthy person.

Clearly the place in Mexico that you bought outright seems to be a pretty extravagant purchase.

Venator: You don't know what Mexican property costs. That house [Venator's 18,000-square-foot house in Valledolid, Mexico], we paid less [for] than a studio apartment in the building I'm living in. Even when it is finished it'll be costing less than a two bedroom apartment in the building I live in in Chicago. It costs $8 a day for labor. Eight dollars. That's what I'm paying now. When I first started it was less. Eight dollars a day is what I'm currently paying for carpenters, plumbers, bricklayers, etc. Eight dollars a day. That's one of the reasons, if you would like to learn about living in Mexico, in retirement on a fixed income, it's one of the best buys. I'll be happy to send you a whole bunch of literature saying why so many Americans are retiring to Mexico and buying houses in Mexico, and living there, because you can have a gardener and maid and have a nice house because—I'll let you do your own research on Mexican real estate.

Former board members have told us that you had tight control of Comptia's board, which would do your bidding. Do you agree with that?

Venator: I have no idea where that's coming from. If anybody thinks they could ever control a Comptia board in 20 years, good luck with a gun, a whip and a chair in hand.