Disney Nixes bonus for top executives as it details 2020 compensation



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14:24 PST 01/19/2021

by

Georg Szalai
,
Alex weprin

Disney has revealed the total compensation of its top executives in a year that saw the company hit hard by the pandemic just after Chapek took over as CEO.

The Walt Disney Co. has disclosed the executive compensation of CEO Bob Chapek and Executive Chairman Bob Iger for the company’s most recent fiscal year, which ended Oct. 3.

It was a very unusual year, the first in which Chapek ran the business, and almost every aspect of Disney’s business was impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic. The company says that “given the situation of the company this year”, all of its executives would waive their bonuses, in addition to the pay cuts announced last summer.

Chapek, who was elevated to CEO in late February, has been with the company since 1993 and previously worked as President of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products since 2018. His compensation package for the last fiscal year was raised to $ 14.1 million, reflecting the challenges of the pandemic and lower overall compensation than Iger.

Iger’s compensation for the last fiscal year was $ 21 million, compared to $ 47.5 million for the previous fiscal year and $ 65.6 million for fiscal 2018, which was bolstered by a set of shares that was awarded to Iger as an incentive to stay with the company after his scheduled retirement date.

Disney disclosed executive compensation in a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All the senior executives of the company saw their compensation decrease significantly compared to the previous year.

In a letter to shareholders, Disney’s compensation committee wrote that the company’s 2020 compensation plan was “designed to motivate executives and recognize them for their tireless efforts and leadership throughout the pandemic, while taking into account the impact of the pandemic on the financial performance of the company and the broader workforce … the committee took this backdrop into account in determining the compensation of the company’s executives, in particular by taking into account measures to significantly reduce the compensation of the NEOs and by further integrating ESG measures for diversity and inclusion into future executive compensation structures. “

Chapek and Iger both suffered pay cuts amid the pandemic. Last week, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti also revealed that Iger and his wife, USC Annenberg, Dean Willow Bay, had donated $ 5 million to small businesses affected by the pandemic.

The compensation packages also reflect the change in leadership at Disney, with Iger handing day-to-day control to Chapek almost a year ago. As executive chairman, Iger has focused his efforts on Disney’s content efforts, especially for its streaming platforms. Iger has also been discussed as a potential ambassador for the new Biden administration to China or the UK.

It was also a strategically important year for Disney, even as the novel coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on the company’s operations, closing its theme parks, cruise ships and television productions and cinematic, while speeding up the transition to streaming, which the company is leaning into via Disney + and Hulu.

At an Investor Day last month, Disney announced that Disney + had surpassed 86 million subscribers and laid the groundwork for dozens of original movies and TV shows that will debut on the service.

At the same time, Disney took a $ 7 billion hit on its theme park operations and laid off some 32,000 employees due to the impact of the pandemic.

“As CEO, and in one of the most challenging environments the company has faced, Mr. Chapek has skillfully managed the enormous disruption to the business of the company, while restructuring the media and entertainment business. of Disney to fuel long-term creative and financial activities. growth of the company, ”wrote the compensation committee in its letter. “For his part, Mr. Iger has done a tremendous job overseeing the company’s creative production to help fuel the successful launch of Disney + and position our DTC platforms for future success.”



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