Mediclinic’s new head has guaranteed salary of almost R10 million
SOUTH African private hospital group Mediclinic incoming chief executive Ronnie van der Merwe is guaranteed to earn at least £558 198 (R9 910 650) in his first year in the role.
Van der Merwe’s appointment became effective at the beginning of this month, succeeding Danie Meintjes, who is retiring after a tenure of more than 30 years of service, the last eight of which have been as its chief executive.
Mediclinic’s chairperson of the remuneration committee Trevor Petersen in the group’s annual report said Van der Merwe’s remuneration arrangements were in line with the group’s remuneration policy and in line with the package for Meintjes in his final full year as chief executive.
“Dr Van der Merwe’s base compensation (inclusive of board fees) has therefore been set at, while his maximum short- and long-term incentive opportunities have been set at 150 percent and 200 percent of base compensation respectively,” Petersen said.
He added that Van der Merwe’s base compensation was positioned towards the bottom end of the market competitive range for the chief executive of a company of similar size and complexity to that of Mediclinic.
Van der Merwe, a 19-year veteran at the group, became a member of the company’s executive committee in 2008 and has been group chief clinical officer since 2007.
The board announced the appointment of the firm’s new chief executive in November last year.
Meintjes will continue to serve as an executive director until July 31 and as a non-executive director with effect from August 1.
Manipulate South African Reward Association executive committee member Laurence Grubb said a handful of executives were still able to manipulate remuneration committees, despite notable efforts to follow the principles set out in King IVTM.
“Remuneration committees should be entitled to obtain independent advice from their own remuneration consultants to validate what has been presented to them by the executives. The cost for this service should be borne by the company,” Grubb said.
Mediclinic said its chief financial officer Jurgens Myburgh would earn £411 486 this year.
Meintjes earned a total remuneration of £1.1 million last year, while Myburgh took home £715 000.
Several companies have experienced shareholder discontent over their remuneration policies.
The most recent being Barclays Africa, whose shareholders voted against the company’s pay policy and implementation report last month.
Santam also faced difficult questions from shareholders about a R19 million cash bonus paid to Santam chief executive Lizé Lambrechts last year. The group paid the bonus under its Outperformance Plan.