CEO Watch New Yahoo CEO to Receive $19 Million Pay Package
New Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz stands to earn $19 million in stock and cash during her first year at the search engine giant, according to several reports.
Bartz will receive a 2009 equity grant of about $8 million, in addition to a $1 million annual salary and roughly $10 million in cash and restricted shares to “make up” for equity grants and benefits she had at her previous employer, Autodesk Inc, according to the Wall Street Journal.
"It's a fair deal for the shareowners and a fair deal for Carol," Mark M. Reilly, a partner at 3C-Compensation Consulting Consortium, told the Journal. "If she gets the stock price up, she'll do very well."
Bartz could also reap huge financial rewards if she succeeds in turning around a struggling Yahoo.
Bartz will receive 5 million stock options tied to Yahoo’s share price. She can begin to exercise the options, according to the Journal, only if the share price rises by 50 percent between January 30, 2009 and January 1, 2013.
Bartz succeeds Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang, a billionaire from his holdings. Yang was paid an annual salary of $1 to run the search engine.
Analysts believe Yahoo could boost it stock immediately by selling its search operation to rival Microsoft Corp. But Bartz, known for her no-nonsense management style, has previously expressed doubts about Yahoo parting with its search engine.
Terry Semel, who ran Yahoo before Jerry Yang, received a $250,000 salary during his last year on the job. He resigned amidst public outrage after it was disclosed Yahoo planned to reward him with stock options valued at $71 million.
