14:24 PST 1/19/2021
by
Georg Szalai
,
Disney announced the total compensation for its top executives in a year after which the company was hit hard by the pandemic, just after Chapek took over as CEO.
The Walt Disney Co. has announced the executive compensation for Bob Chapek, CEO, and Bob Iger, CEO, for the company’s latest fiscal year, which ended on October 3rd.
It was a very unusual year, the first year in which Chapek led the company, and with almost every part of Disney’s business affected by the new coronavirus pandemic. The company says that, given the company’s circumstances this year, all of its top executives would waive their bonuses, in addition to the salary cuts announced last summer.
Chapek, who was promoted to chief executive officer at the end of February, has been with the company since 1993 and has previously served as chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products since 2018. His compensation package for the most recent financial year is $ 14.1 million, which the challenges of the pandemic and an overall pay package that is smaller than that of Iger.
Iger’s compensation for the most recent financial year amounts to $ 21 million, compared to $ 47.5 million for the previous financial year and $ 65.6 million in fiscal 2018, which was strengthened by a share package that Iger awarded as an incentive to join the company to remain after his originally planned retirement date.
Disney announced compensation from top executives in a regulatory application to the Securities and Exchange Commission. All of the company’s top executives significantly reduced their remuneration compared to the previous year.
In a letter to shareholders, Disney’s compensation committee wrote that the company’s compensation plan for 2020 was made to motivate managers and recognize them for their unwavering efforts and leadership throughout the pandemic, while the impact of the pandemic on the financial performance of the company and the broader workforce for employees … the committee considered this background to determine remuneration for the management members of the company, including taking actions to meaningfully reduce the NEO remuneration and the integration of ESG measures for diversity and its inclusion in managers’ future remuneration structures. “
Both Chapek and Iger have taken pay cuts amid the pandemic. Last week, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti also revealed that Iger and his wife, Dean Willow Bay, USC Annenberg, donated $ 5 million to small businesses affected by the pandemic.
The compensation packages also reflect the change in leadership at Disney, with Iger giving daily control to Chapek almost a year ago. As executive chairman, Iger focuses on Disney’s content efforts, particularly on streaming platforms. Iger was also discussed as a potential ambassador for the incoming Biden government, whether in China or the United Kingdom
It was also strategically an important year for Disney, even as the new coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on the business and shut down theme parks, cruise ships and TV and film productions, while accelerating the move to streaming, which the company leans on. via Disney + and Hulu.
At an investor day held last month, Disney announced that Disney had passed +86 million subscribers, laying the groundwork for dozens of original movies and TV shows to debut on the service.
At the same time, Disney hit a $ 7 billion success on its theme parks and laid off about 32,000 employees due to the impact of the pandemic.
“As CEO and during one of the most challenging environments the company has faced, Mr Chapek has mastered the enormous disruption of the company’s business while simultaneously restructuring Disney’s media and entertainment businesses. “In turn, the remuneration committee wrote about the company’s creative and financial growth.” “I did a great job overseeing the creative production of the company to help fuel the successful launch of Disney + and to position our DTC platforms for future success.”