IBM will be cutting off stock options for its board of directors beginning in 2007, while doubling their cash pay. Directors will receive a $200,000 retainer, up from the previous $100,000, while maintaining a 60 percent minimum investment rule already in place. A spokesperson for IBM stated that the company had decided to end options for directors as part of the company's overall reduction of equity- based compensation.
See "IBM to cut off stock options for its directors", International Herald Tribune, December 20, 2006