CME chief executive's pay rises 16 pct in 2009

CHICAGO, March 18 (Reuters) - CME Group Inc (CME.O) Chief Executive Craig Donohue earned $4.7 million in 2009, up 16 percent from the previous year, as the company battled a decline in trading volumes and the perception that looming regulatory changes could hurt the business.

The figure includes salary, cash bonuses, stock and option awards, and retirement plan contributions, and reflected some of the terms of Donohue's three-year contract inked in August, the company said in its proxy filing Thursday.

Donohue, 48, has been at the exchange giant's helm since 2004. Last year he re-upped for a third three-year term, wrangling a raise after a compensation consultant determined he was underpaid relative to his peers.

Donohue's 2009 cash bonus rose to $789,641, from $642,600, the proxy showed. He received stock and options awards valued at $2.94 million, up from $2.4 million a year earlier.

Before his latest contract renewal, Donohue's pay put him in the lower quartile compared to other exchange executives as well as heads of asset management and brokerage companies, the proxy said.

His pay is set to rise further next year, with a boost in base salary to $1 million from $850,000, the proxy said.

Separately, CME said it launched its majority-owned index venture with Dow Jones & Co. CME owns 90 percent of the company, valued at $675 million.

The new company will provide services related to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and 130,000 other indexes. (Reporting by Ann Saphir; editing by Leslie Adler)