The chief executives of prominent tech companies are well represented on the list of the “top 100 most overpaid CEOs,” as compiled and released in a report Wednesday by the green group As You Sow. “Everyone wants to be properly compensated for the work they do -- it is part of the American dream and bedrock of the capitalist system,” said the report. CEOs “have a difficult job and make decisions daily that could impact millions of lives and should be reasonably rewarded for the productive contributions they make to the economy and society,” it said. “However, as shown in this report, by every pay performance measure, many CEOs are being paid entirely too much and that means the process which determines CEO pay is broken.” In deciding and approving pay packages for top executives, “there is little alignment between pay and performance,” it said. “Overall, these practices promote an unsustainable system.” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, with a “total disclosed compensation” package of $84.3 million, places fifth on the list of the top 100, followed in seventh place by Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, who makes $42.1 million, the report said. Discovery Communications CEO David Zaslav tops the overall list with a $156.1 million pay package, the report said. Discovery, Microsoft and Yahoo representatives didn't comment.

Comcast Business said it’s holding its third Innovations 4 Entrepreneurs competition with a chance for current and aspiring business owners to receive up to $30,000 and participate in a day of mentoring with business experts who will provide advice on implementing their plans. Applicants must submit a 250-word essay by March 12 answering the question of how technology could enhance their business. The competition is open to startups and entrepreneurs. Two winners will be selected in each of 15 Comcast business regions: one winner for startup companies (in business two years or less) and one winner for entrepreneurs (in business for more than two years). The 30 regional winners will each earn $10,000 in cash, said the company. Regional winners will be announced April 25 and six grand prize winners will be announced June 6, it said Monday.

Bang & Olufsen introduced the BeoHome design app that lets consumers see how B&O products would look placed in their home. Users can choose speakers, sound systems and TVs and place them wherever an iPad camera is pointing, Bang & Olufsen said. Using a “room builder” feature, users can customize predefined floor plans and add products and furniture, the company said. They can move furniture around via augmented reality technology, it said. The app is currently available for the iPad only.

Harman is “exposed to some customer concentration risks,” said investment research company Zacks in a blog post Thursday after release of the company’s Q2 fiscal 2016 results. Harman’s quarterly revenue was up 12 percent year over year to $1.8 billion, but the company’s stock price plummeted during the day to a 52-week low of $66.38 before closing down Thursday 13 percent at $69.01. Harman’s top four customers generate half of its revenue, said Zacks. The post cited Audi/Volkswagen, BMW, Fiat Chrysler, Honda, Jaguar Land Rover and Toyota/Lexus as “significant” revenue sources for Harman, while noting the company recently linked with Alphabet’s Google and Microsoft on IoT partnerships. Harman is likely to benefit from growing automotive production globally especially as production of autonomous vehicles begins, said Zacks. Harman’s cloud platform and scalable technology are “gaining popularity” with the increase in connected cars and will help drive revenue, said Zacks, and the company continues to expand on the back of its strategic partnerships. It said. Harman’s new manufacturing capacities, “growing product pipeline, solid patent portfolio, new awards as well as product launches are expected to boost the top line and profitability in fiscal 2016." Harman secured $2 billion in new automotive contracts in the quarter from Subaru and Hyundai, said CEO Dinesh Paliwal on a Thursday earnings call. Sales in the connected car division increased 2 percent to $737 million from the year-ago quarter, while professional solutions fell 7 percent to $249 million, the company said. Lifestyle audio sales jumped 20 percent to $625 million. Earlier this week Harman opened a 188,000-square-foot North American automotive headquarters in Novi, Michigan. The facility's 1,000 employees will develop advanced technology solutions for the connected car and autonomous driving, said the company.

Voxx International identified the irate shareholder on the company’s Q3 earnings call (see 1601120045) as Vad Yazvinski, portfolio manager at Jordan Capital, an equity fund. On the call, Yazvinski spared few punches when he accused Voxx CEO Patrick Lavelle and Chief Financial Officer Michael Stoehr of steering the company toward investments like EyeLock biometric technology where Voxx doesn’t belong. Said Yazvinski: “A lot of your lines of business at this point would be better off in hands of somebody else.” As a result of the company’s forays into businesses that have shown no meaningful returns, he said, Voxx shares are “basically hitting close to all-time lows.” Other shareholders share his “frustration,” he said: “You guys get paid for doing your job. We as shareholders don't.” On the call, Lavelle responded that while he fully understands the frustration, “we do see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Lumos Labs, which created and markets the online and mobile "brain training" program Lumosity, agreed to pay $2 million in consumer redress to settle FTC allegations that the company deceived consumers with "unfounded claims" that its games could help reduce or delay cognitive impairment, the agency said Tuesday in a news release. The order that the release describes imposes a $50 million judgment that will be suspended due to the company's financial condition after it pays the $2 million, the FTC said. “Lumosity preyed on consumers’ fears about age-related cognitive decline, suggesting their games could stave off memory loss, dementia, and even Alzheimer’s disease,” said Consumer Protection Bureau Director Jessica Rich, saying the company didn't have the science to back up its ads. Lumos Labs in an emailed statement said "neither the action nor the settlement pertains to the rigor of our research or the quality of the products -- it is a reflection of marketing language that has been discontinued." The company said it continues to invest "heavily" in research and game development.

Microsoft already lets users know whether their Outlook.com email and OneDrive accounts have been targeted or compromised. But it will now tell them if a state sponsor is responsible for the attack. Scott Charney, corporate vice president-Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing, wrote Wednesday in a blog post the company is doing this "because it is likely that the attack could be more sophisticated or more sustained than attacks from cybercriminals and others." But he said the company doesn't plan to provide any more detailed information about the attackers or methods used. If users get such notices, it doesn't necessarily mean their accounts are compromised, he wrote, but it does mean there's evidence their accounts have been targeted. He listed several steps users should take to strengthen the security of their accounts.

Logitech spun off its Lifesize videoconferencing division into a private entity to focus on its retail business, it said Tuesday. Three investors -- Redpoint Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures and Meritech Capital Partners -- plugged $17.5 million into Lifesize and join Logitech as shareholders. Logitech will own 37.5 percent of the videoconferencing company. Logitech said the spinoff of Lifesize was part of its transformation to a “simpler, faster” company. It will separate Lifesize from its financials beginning with Q4 of fiscal 2016.

On Controls has added four full-service independent reps, the company said Tuesday. They are: Current Marketing, serving Arizona, Northern Nevada; Ace Marketing, serving Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, the District of Columbia and Eastern Pennsylvania; High Note Marketing, serving Florida; and DSG Marketing, Inc., covering Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and Missouri.

Toshiba agreed to sell its Indonesian TV plant to China-based Skyworth, Toshiba said in a Monday announcement. Toshiba nearly a year ago exited the “in-house development and sales” of TVs and shifted to a Philips-type “brand-licensing model” in the U.S. and Europe (see 1501290047). The Skyworth agreement marks the extension of that model to Asia, excluding China, Toshiba said. The Skyworth sale is part of a large-scale restructuring of the Toshiba Lifestyle Products and Services sector, also announced Monday, that includes the company’s TV, PC and home appliances businesses. As part of that restructuring, Toshiba by March will eliminate 6,800 jobs globally in that sector, about 30 percent of the sector’s worldwide work force, the company said.