Nadella’s karma pays off

Microsoft CEO gets $ 84m in pay; joins highly- paid officials

Seattle, Oct. 21: Microsoft Corp’s new chief executive Satya Nadella has become one of the biggest earners in technology industry, with a total compensation package worth $ 84.3 million this year, according to a document filed with securities regulators on Monday.

The outsize number is mostly made up of the estimated value of certain one- time stock awards given to Nadella, who became the company’s third CEO in February. Most of it Nadella cannot actually receive until 2019.

The massive stock awards, valued at $ 79.8 million overall, were designed to keep Mr Nadella at Microsoft while the company was hunting for a new CEO and to give him incentives as CEO.

Large stock awards have not been necessary for Microsoft’s previous two CEOs, Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, as both had multi- billion dollar holdings in the company. Microsoft is also slightly hampered in ensuring the loyalty of its top exec- utives as none of them have employment contracts with the company.

Disclosure of Mr Nadella’s rich pay package comes at an awkward time for the new CEO, just 11 days after he urged women in technology not to ask for pay raises but trust in karma to get a fair salary.

According to Microsoft’s proxy statement filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr Nadella is slated to receive stock worth an estimated $ 59.2 million under a longterm incentive scheme that stretches out over seven years and is dependent on Microsoft’s shares beating the Standard’s & Poor’s 500 index. He got a furt- her award worth $ 13.5 million to stay at the company while it was searching for its next CEO.

Excluding those onetime stock awards, Mr Nadella’s pay package totalled $ 11.6 million this year, including $ 918,000 in salary, a $ 3.6 million cash bonus, and an annual stock award valued at $ 7 million.