Ralph Lauren Fashion News

Ralph Lauren has a contract to run the design empire he founded, Polo Ralph Lauren, that does not expire for another year. But Mr. Lauren, the indefatigable fashion icon, has already re-upped through March 2013, when he will be 73. His five-year extension could be worth much more than $100 million, and that’s not counting the reimbursement for the mandatory use of private jets and helicopters for all of his business and personal travel.

Mr. Lauren, the chairman and chief executive, will receive a salary of $1.25 million as well as annual bonuses of as much as $19.5 million. And each year he will also get 100,000 options and 75,000 shares of restricted stock, currently worth more than $7 million. PATRICK McGEEHAN

DIALING MR. BROWN Ever since Carl C. Icahn started rattling the cages at Motorola in January, people have been wondering how long Edward J. Zander, the ch
ief executive, would last. Last week the pressure heated up as the company reported its second consecutive quarterly loss after failing to come up with a hot-selling replacement for the Razr cellphone.

Thomas J. Meredith, Motorola’s chief financial officer, said the company’s board supports Mr. Zander and is not searching for a replacement. But industry analysts say Gregory Q. Brown, the company’s chief operating officer, could soon replace Mr. Zander. They add that few people have all the skills needed to run a cellphone maker. KEN BELSON

HEIR SHOW It will be family night on Wednesday for the scions of two famous American clans at the big annual air show in Oshkosh, Wis.

Edsel B. Ford II, a Ford director and great-grandson of the company’s founder, Henry Ford, will team up with Eric Lindbergh, the grandson of Charles Lindbergh. They will introduce a showing of “The Spirit of Saint Louis,” the classic film starring Jimmy Stewart, at the EAA AirVenture, billed as the country’s biggest show for private aviation.

Mr. Lindbergh, the pilot, and Mr. Ford, the auto company founder, were friends, while Edsel Ford is known as an aviation buff. His presence is just part of the auto company’s expanded role at the show, which attracts 650,000 people a year. Ford, which has been the main corporate sponsor for AirVenture since 1999, will use it this year as a mini-car show. It will display vehicles like the Flex, a crossover scheduled to be introduced in 2008, and offer test drives and seminars.

Of course, Ford’s chief executive, Alan R. Mulally, is the company’s biggest current link to aviation: he joined Ford last year from Boeing. But Mr. Mulally will not be attending the show. MICHELINE MAYNARD

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