AstraZeneca pays a bumper bonus and bolsters its board
ASTRAZENECA boss Pascal Soriot was awarded a bumper bonus for 2013, equivalent to 94 per cent of the maximum the pharmaceuticals giant could have paid its CEO.
The company’s annual report, published yesterday, cited several acquisitions that have bolstered its pipeline. Despite declining sales and profits, Soriot received a £1.87m bonus for 2013, taking his total remuneration to £3.34m.
Soriot’s pay is significantly below that received by former chief exec David Brennan in the years prior to his replacement. Brennan’s total remuneration was £7.86m in 2011, his final full year in the job, £9.69m in 2010, and £5.77m in 2009.
Total employee remuneration at the firm, which is battling a tough environment in the sector as many of its patents expire, fell from $5.74bn (£3.48bn) to $5.27bn.
The company also revealed yesterday that senior Mastercard director Ann Cairns will join its board as a non-exec, subject to a shareholder vote at the firm’s AGM on 24 April.
“Ann will bring more than twenty years’ in-depth financial and international business experience to the board and we look forward to welcoming her,” said chairman Leif Johansson.
Cairns, who has degrees from Sheffield and Newcastle universities, previously worked on winding up Lehman Brothers.