Times are tough for new Gannett CFO

If you are looking for a poster child for the current economic crisis that has enveloped our country, look no further than Paul Saleh.

Hard times have fallen on Paul Saleh over the past few years, and in an act of desperation this week he latched onto the best job he can find. Though skeptics claim that these jobs should be outsourced because Americans simply won't do them, Paul Saleh is a different breed. He is a man who firmly believes that hard work builds character.

So, hat in hand, this week Saleh took a deep breath and became the new chief financial officer of Springfield News-Leader parent company Gannett, the largest newspaper chain in the United States.

It's not the kind of money Saleh is used to, but in this seller's market, you have to take whatever is available. It was only three years ago that Saleh was at the top of his game, earning more than $6.3 million as CFO of Sprint Nextel. For a brief time, he even served as the company's interim CEO, but when the new CEO came to town, he had incredibly high expectations. He actually wanted Saleh and other top management officials to stop bleeding market share to Verizon and other competitors. So that put Saleh out on the street, a proud man pounding the pavement looking for anything to keep his family fed and clothed.

Finally, Saleh got in on the ground floor on a new management firm, Menza. And after about two and a half years (or two and a half Mensa), Saleh is back in business.

With that decision came an enormous sacrifice. SEC filings indicate Saleh is going to start at a rock-bottom $600,000 a year, less than 10 percent of what he made during his salad days. Of course, the philanthropists who run Gannett are helping tide him over with a $150,000 signing bonus and options to buy 180,000 shares and 65,000 restricted stock units.

And if Saleh happens to lose his job, the caring folks at Gannett will help him make a smooth transition into his next employment. The SEC filings indicate he will receive a going-away present of $600,000 plus the average of his bonuses over a three-year period.

It's a tough sacrifice for Paul Saleh to make, but sometimes to get back to the top, you have to start on the ground floor.

But in a supportive environment such as the one he will find at Gannett (don't pay attention to those naysayers who are upset because 130 jobs were recently eliminated at USA Today with no $600,000 cushion to and on, or positions have been trimmed at the Springfield News-Leader and the rest of Gannett's newspapers and don't listen to those whiners who are upset because they have had to take unpaid furloughs two or three times), don't be surprised if Paul Saleh, who was also a Disney official at one time, will find plenty of reason to whistle while he works.