When he resigned as Sycamore Networks’ top sales officer last fall, Araldo Menegon was earning more than four times what his boss was.

As the optical equipment vendor’s vice president of worldwide sales and support, Menegon earned $411,750 in the fiscal year that ended July 31, 2006. Along with a $200,000 base salary (unchanged from previous years), his annual bonus (based on sales commissions) grew 35% from the previous year to $211,750.

Meanwhile, the company’s chief executive officer, Daniel Smith, has earned an annual base salary of $100,000, with no bonuses, for at least the past five years. He does, however, hold slightly more than 15% of the company’s stock--nearly 43 million shares. At this morning’s price of $3.91 per share, that would be worth more than $168 million. Menegon, on the other hand, owns less than 1% of the company.

Sycamore’s compensation pattern mirrors that of another optical equipment vendor, Infinera, whose vice president of sales, Scott Chandler, earned $1.2-million last year, more than four times the CEO’s compensation.

Menegon resigned his officer post last September, but he agreed to stay with the company for another year, at the same base salary, while his stock options continue to vest. He was replaced as worldwide sales and support VP by John Scully, who joined Sycamore through its acquisition of edge router vendor Eastern Research last summer. Scully now earns a base salary of $230,000 and additionally can earn up to $245,000 in annual bonuses, giving him a potential 15% increase over Menegon’s pay.