Rossi Ralenkotter
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority President and CEO Rossi Ralenkotter is in line for a 4 percent pay increase and a performance bonus of nearly $80,000.
The LVCVA’s Compensation Committee on Tuesday approved a recommendation to the board of directors to increase Ralenkotter’s pay to $276,825 a year beginning July 1. The board is expected to consider the recommendation at its June meeting.
Even with the salary bump, Ralenkotter’s pay is estimated to be 16 percent below the national average for someone in that position. One of the reasons for that: The LVCVA’s top executive not only oversees the administration of Southern Nevada’s primary tourism marketing arm, but also manages the Las Vegas Convention Center.
In most cities, separate organizations are in charge of marketing and convention center management.
The salary increase and bonus are within the LVCVA’s compensatory ranges and could have been larger. For the president and CEO position, the LVCVA has a guideline range of between 0 percent and 40 percent for a bonus.
The recommendation reached by the committee was for a 4 percent raise and a 30 percent bonus. Compensation committee chairman Tom Collins initially suggested giving Ralenkotter a 10 percent raise and a 50 percent bonus — a salary of $292,796 and a bonus of $146,397.
The LVCVA’s executive compensation guidelines recommend pay for performance and there are no cost-of-living or longevity pay increases.
Executive compensation specialists Fox Lawson & Associates of St. Paul, Minn., and Performance Solutions Inc. of Stamford, Conn., conducted salary surveys that said Ralenkotter’s pay was 24.7 percent below the industry average for the top officer of a destination marketing organization.
The committee said Ralenkotter successfully achieved a list of nine goals in the 2012 fiscal year and he now has a list of 11 goals for 2013.
The committee also recommended a 4 percent raise and a 20 percent bonus for LVCVA legal counsel Luke Puschnig. Based on his current base salary, Puschnig would be paid $143,268 a year with a bonus of $27,552.