Author: Joann S. Lublin / Source: WSJ
In a rare rebuke of Walt Disney Co. DIS 0.42% leadership, shareholders on Thursday voted down a nonbinding endorsement of the compensation given to Chairman and Chief Executive Robert Iger following an increase in December.
About 52% of votes cast at the company’s annual meeting expressed displeasure with Mr.
Iger’s new pay package. It was the first time a majority of votes were cast against such a proposal at Disney.Only 1.2% of S&P 500 companies saw less than majority support for their “say on pay” resolutions last year, according to ISS Analytics, the data arm of Institutional Shareholder Services, the biggest proxy advisory firm. Disney is the first S&P 500 company in 2018 to lose such a vote, the firm said.
The media giant’s shareholders went along with the board’s recommendations on all other matters, including electing the 10 members of its board and voting down two shareholder proposals.
Under a contract extension signed as part of Disney’s December agreement to buy most of the assets of 21st Century Fox Inc., FOX 0.77% Mr. Iger is eligible to receive stock worth up to $142 million at the then-current share price. He also got an immediate bump in his base salary to $3 million from $2.5 million, with another $500,000 raise to come if the purchase is completed. In addition, Mr. Iger’s annual target bonus would increase to $20 million from $12…
The post Disney Shareholders Don’t Endorse Compensation Plan for CEO Robert Iger appeared first on FeedBox.