Robert G Mugabe
22nd Jan 2012, 11:37
From the Torygraph
Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou to vote against easyJet
The billionaire entrepreneur, who controls a 37.4pc stake in the low-cost carrier, is deeply concerned at executive pay levels in the company, particularly for its 10-strong senior management team.It will be the second AGM in a row that Sir Stelios has hit out at the company's remuneration decisions, following last year's protest at retention payments made to the outgoing chief executive, Andrew Harrison.
That decision led to an all-out pay revolt, with a number of institutional shareholders abstaining over the issue of retention payments. Some 51.5pc of shareholders abstained or voted against approving the pay report."I will vote against the remuneration report," the entrepreneur confirmed in an email conversation with*The Sunday Telegraph, detailing his concern about the decisions being made by the company's board, chaired by Sir Michael Rake. He declined to comment when asked if he would vote against the re-election of individual directors, however.
The Sunday Telegraph*has seen a copy of a 20-page presentation he circulated to shareholders in the past week, in which he sets out the reasons behind his decision. In it he questions what he called Sir Michael's “phoney calculation”, used to award shares in the company's long-term incentive plan.That plan recently delivered shares worth almost £7m to 10 executives, led by chief executive Carolyn McCall. Sir Stelios said the deal was“daylight robbery”.
He argued that the way the board chooses to calculate return on capital employed (ROCE) – one of the key metrics used to measure the incentive plan – was incorrect and “self serving”.Last week, Sir Stelios wrote to the Prime Minister to support plans for new rules on executive pay, under which 75pc of shareholders would have to back executive pay and bonus schemes before they could be awarded. Such rules would enable him to block such awards.
He denied he was hurting the airline through his continued opposition to the board, saying: “The £7m does not go to the 8,000 staff who I am proud of, it goes to a handful of directors.“Over the past decade, these directors and their predecessors have taken away £160m in shares and bonuses without risking a penny of their own money.”
However, Sir Michael Rake, the company's chairman, denied Sir Stelios's allegations, branding them inaccurate and misleading.
He said that the airline continued to perform well, and noted that it was at Sir Stelios's behest that the airline moved to using ROCE as a measure for performance.
Bold highlighting is mine.
This of course is offset by the protracted pay negotiations conducted between the company and its pilots. About which a pilot manager is alleged to comment that the pilots expectations were too high.
The Lisbon pay levels are being commented on in another thread.
Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou to vote against easyJet
The billionaire entrepreneur, who controls a 37.4pc stake in the low-cost carrier, is deeply concerned at executive pay levels in the company, particularly for its 10-strong senior management team.It will be the second AGM in a row that Sir Stelios has hit out at the company's remuneration decisions, following last year's protest at retention payments made to the outgoing chief executive, Andrew Harrison.
That decision led to an all-out pay revolt, with a number of institutional shareholders abstaining over the issue of retention payments. Some 51.5pc of shareholders abstained or voted against approving the pay report."I will vote against the remuneration report," the entrepreneur confirmed in an email conversation with*The Sunday Telegraph, detailing his concern about the decisions being made by the company's board, chaired by Sir Michael Rake. He declined to comment when asked if he would vote against the re-election of individual directors, however.
The Sunday Telegraph*has seen a copy of a 20-page presentation he circulated to shareholders in the past week, in which he sets out the reasons behind his decision. In it he questions what he called Sir Michael's “phoney calculation”, used to award shares in the company's long-term incentive plan.That plan recently delivered shares worth almost £7m to 10 executives, led by chief executive Carolyn McCall. Sir Stelios said the deal was“daylight robbery”.
He argued that the way the board chooses to calculate return on capital employed (ROCE) – one of the key metrics used to measure the incentive plan – was incorrect and “self serving”.Last week, Sir Stelios wrote to the Prime Minister to support plans for new rules on executive pay, under which 75pc of shareholders would have to back executive pay and bonus schemes before they could be awarded. Such rules would enable him to block such awards.
He denied he was hurting the airline through his continued opposition to the board, saying: “The £7m does not go to the 8,000 staff who I am proud of, it goes to a handful of directors.“Over the past decade, these directors and their predecessors have taken away £160m in shares and bonuses without risking a penny of their own money.”
However, Sir Michael Rake, the company's chairman, denied Sir Stelios's allegations, branding them inaccurate and misleading.
He said that the airline continued to perform well, and noted that it was at Sir Stelios's behest that the airline moved to using ROCE as a measure for performance.
Bold highlighting is mine.
This of course is offset by the protracted pay negotiations conducted between the company and its pilots. About which a pilot manager is alleged to comment that the pilots expectations were too high.
The Lisbon pay levels are being commented on in another thread.