Nadella's $90 million payday approved with 72 percent of shareholder votes
Send this to a friend
- Jacob Demmitt
- Staff Writer- Puget Sound Business Journal
- Email | Twitter
The $90 million payday for new Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was approved during Wednesday's shareholders meeting, but the vote was closer than usual.
According to an SEC filing by Microsoft, Wednesday's "advisory vote on executive compensation" passed with 72 percent in favor.
The vote on pay is generally part of the procedural humdrum of Microsoft's annual meeting. Shareholders have voted on it every year since 2011, always delivering more than 94 percent in favor of whatever compensation is proposed. Microsoft has roughly 1,200 employees at its offices in Irving.
Things were a little more complicated this year — but the proposal was still nowhere near getting rejected.
Weeks before the meeting, advising organization Institutional Shareholder Services released a report that valued Nadella's 2014 pay at more than $90 million.
It reported the majority of that windfall came in the form of a $65 million one-time stock award the company was giving as a way to get Nadella invested in the company. The hope was that the stock award would tie the new CEO's own financial fate to that of the company.
None of the award vests for five years. When it does, it's performance based. So the award will payout a percentage tied to Microsoft's returns relative to the S&P 500.
ISS voiced concern over several aspects of the proposal and urged shareholders to vote no when they got their say.
According to Microsoft's SEC filing, just 28 percent of shareholders took the advice.
It's important to note Microsoft's massive stock award wasn't without precedent.
Apple CEO Tim Cook was given a similar stock award for the same reason when he took over that company in 2011. Apple gave its new top executive 1 million shares, which at the time the company valued at $376 million.
When Apple shareholders got a chance to vote on executive compensation at the next shareholders meeting, it passed with 83 percent voting in support of the proposal, according to an SEC filing by Apple.
Jacob Demmitt covers technology companies for the Puget Sound Business Journal.
Most Popular
- Most popular
- Emailed
- Mobile
- Behind the numbers of State Farm's new regional hub in Richardson
- Exclusive: Live Nation to open new $40M concert venue in Irving
- A sneak peek inside Exxon Mobil's under-used Dallas office campus
- Artful salesman or Dallas con man? The life and death of
- The Fresh Market to open first Dallas store Dec. 3
- $300M Clearfork project lands 'integral piece' with luxury retailer
- See how Southwest and Virgin America did at Love Field in October
- $15M North Dallas retail center posted for foreclosure auction
- Fort Worth has highest population growth in U.S.; Dallas comes in 24th
- Sentinel Capital to break ground on $90M office campus in Allen
Email Subscriptions
Sponsored by
People on the Move
-
Channel Sales Executive Houston Business Journal | Houston, TX
-
Level 2 Technician Fluid IT Services | Plano, TX
-
Store Managers / Store Associates Hollywood Feed | Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
-
Sales Representative – Packaging Products Green Bay Packaging Inc. | Ft. Worth, TX
-
Chief Human Resources Officer Public Health - Seattle & King County | Seattle, WA
Comments
If you are commenting using a Facebook account, your profile information may be displayed with your comment depending on your privacy settings. By leaving the 'Post to Facebook' box selected, your comment will be published to your Facebook profile in addition to the space below.