Shareholders to vote on top Aflac executives' pay

— -- Aflac announced such a shareholder vote in February, but said it would not come until 2009, when three years of complete pay data are published in proxy tables under new Securities and Exchange Commission disclosure rules.

But the Aflac board decided two years of information was enough for shareholders to weigh a decision, and at a meeting in Tokyo this morning, moved the first annual vote up a year to 2008, when the shareholders will weigh in on what the company is paying CEO Dan Amos and his four highest-paid lieutenants this year.

The shareholder vote will be non-binding. But if they were to disapprove of Amos' pay, Aflac would sit down with major shareholders to see what changes they would recommend.

"Listening to shareholders is how CEOs keep their jobs," Amos said in an interview Friday before leaving for Japan.

None have yet to adopt. At Activision, the resolution received 69.6%, the highest percentage of any company, according to RiskMetrics Group. Activision did not respond to requests for comment.

At Verizon, the resolution passed by a thin 50.2% of the vote, but company spokesman Peter Thonis says it was adopted because large shareholders said the ability to vote on the compensation of Ivan Seidenberg and future CEOs would be a useful corporate governance tool. The first Verizon vote is scheduled for 2009.