{"id":114077,"date":"2021-05-11T16:55:45","date_gmt":"2021-05-11T16:55:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?p=114077"},"modified":"2021-05-11T16:55:45","modified_gmt":"2021-05-11T16:55:45","slug":"astrazeneca-runs-into-meaningful-investor-revolt-over-pay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/astrazeneca-runs-into-meaningful-investor-revolt-over-pay\/","title":{"rendered":"AstraZeneca runs into 'meaningful' investor revolt over pay"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Reuters) -AstraZeneca said a \u201cmeaningful proportion\u201d of its shareholders voted against CEO Pascal Soriot\u2019s improved pay package on Tuesday, exposing a rift as the drugmaker deals with problems surrounding its COVID-19 vaccine.<\/p>

FILE PHOTO: Pascal Soriot, chief executive officer of pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, attends an interview with Reuters in Shanghai, China November 4, 2019. REUTERS\/Brenda Goh\/File Photo<\/figcaption>

At its annual investor meeting, 60.19% of votes cast were in favour, AstraZeneca said, adding that it would \u201cengage and listen to ensure investors\u2019 concerns regarding the approach to executive remuneration are understood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Large corporations typically win about 90% support for their pay in annual advisory votes, compensation consultants say, making narrow-win results such as AstraZeneca\u2019s effectively a call to review the programme and talk to shareholders.<\/p>\n

Shares in London-listed AstraZeneca slipped 1.1% after the vote, which comes as the drugmaker faces a second European Union legal move over delayed deliveries of its COVID-19 vaccine and concerns over rare blood clots.<\/p>\n

The new pay policy takes Soriot\u2019s maximum annual bonus for 2021 to 2.5 times his base salary, up from twice his salary, and makes him eligible for long-term share awards worth as much as 6.5 times his salary, up from 5.5 times.<\/p>\n

His new package puts him among the best paid European pharmaceutical bosses but still lags Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky’s near-$30 million pay plan which was approved here by shareholders last month, also after some opposition.<\/p>\n

Soriot, who has been in charge of AstraZeneca since 2012, told The Times in a 2018 interview here that he found it annoying to be the lowest-paid CEO in the industry. His package has since jumped almost 50% from its level in 2017.<\/p>\n

Soriot\u2019s total pay package for 2020 of 15.4 million pounds ($21.7 million) was roughly unchanged from 2019. Most of that comprised bonuses and long-term share awards on top of a base salary of 1.3 million pounds.<\/p>\n

Shareholder advisory groups ISS, Glass Lewis and PIRC all recommended that investors vote against Soriot\u2019s pay increase.<\/p>\n

AstraZeneca recognised remuneration was \u201ca sensitive matter\u201d during the pandemic but noted its contributions to tackling the crisis and the scale and scope of what Soriot and chief financial officer Marc Dunoyer were being asked to deliver.<\/p>\n

The company has pledged not to make any profit from its COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic and also not from low income countries thereafter.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Board considered it appropriate to take another step to address their market pay positioning in order to retain and incentivise them; and enable succession planning,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

Soriot has driven a change in AstraZeneca\u2019s fortunes by betting on newer products while thwarting a 2014 bid by Pfizer. AstraZeneca\u2019s oncology drug business, in particular, is thriving as its not-for-profit pandemic vaccine is distributed.<\/p>\n

In a separate meeting, AstraZeneca shareholders approved its planned $39 billion takeover of U.S. group Alexion.<\/p>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Reuters) -AstraZeneca said a \u201cmeaningful proportion\u201d of its shareholders voted against CEO Pascal Soriot\u2019s improved pay package on Tuesday, exposing a rift as the drugmaker […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":114076,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nAstraZeneca runs into 'meaningful' investor revolt over pay - Fin2me<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/astrazeneca-runs-into-meaningful-investor-revolt-over-pay\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"AstraZeneca runs into 'meaningful' investor revolt over pay - Fin2me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"(Reuters) -AstraZeneca said a \u201cmeaningful proportion\u201d of its shareholders voted against CEO Pascal Soriot\u2019s improved pay package on Tuesday, exposing a rift as the drugmaker [...]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/astrazeneca-runs-into-meaningful-investor-revolt-over-pay\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Fin2me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-05-11T16:55:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/AstraZeneca-runs-into-meaningful-investor-revolt-over-pay.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/astrazeneca-runs-into-meaningful-investor-revolt-over-pay\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/astrazeneca-runs-into-meaningful-investor-revolt-over-pay\/\",\"name\":\"AstraZeneca runs into 'meaningful' investor revolt over pay - 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