ABOUT
One senior practitioner, and the work is his.
John Markson advises compensation committees of small-cap public and pre-IPO companies on executive and director pay. He has more than 30 years of experience advising companies on executive and broad-based compensation and related human resources issues.
John founded Cannae HR Solutions in 2007, after twelve years as a managing partner at Towers Perrin (now WTW), a global compensation and benefits consulting firm, where he advised Fortune 500 companies. On the corporate side, he has held executive compensation, benefits and human resources roles at Numerex, a technology company, and at Mobil Oil, now part of ExxonMobil.​
John’s clients include numerous US-listed and pre-IPO companies, primarily in life sciences and technology. His engagements for executive and director pay cover cash and equity benchmarking, plan design, metric construction, and equity plan overhang and run-rate analysis.
​
John has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Chicago and a master’s degree in business, with a focus on finance, from George Washington University. Early in his career, John was a practicing actuary and member of the society of actuaries.
​
John is a devoted volunteer and supporter of local humane societies and Jewish Family & Career Services. He and his wife founded the Orion School, an elementary and middle school for children on the autism spectrum, where John served as board chair throughout the school’s life. He also volunteers his time and expertise placing young adults on the autism spectrum in jobs.
Cannae Compensation Advisory was established as a separate practice so that compensation committee work carries no adjacent commercial relationship with management.​
Why "Cannae"
​
At Cannae in 216 BC, Hannibal’s much smaller force surrounded and destroyed a much larger Roman army by letting his center yield and then closing in from both flanks. Our logo suggests that double envelopment.
Hannibal’s more nimble army, combined with innovative tactics, won the day. It is one of the most famous battles of the classical age.
Outnumbered is not the same as outmatched. That is the mentality of our clients, and ours.
