Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer’s Pay Slumps 14.5 Percent

No Yahoo executive received a cash bonus in 2015

marissa mayer

Marissa Mayer’s pay in 2015 was $35.9 million, representing a 14.5 percent drop from the Yahoo CEO’s compensation in 2014, according to documents filed Friday.

But if Yahoo is sold and she leaves the company, she’ll get a $55 million golden parachute, the Securities and Exchange Commission records disclose.

While her $1 million salary in 2015 was consistent with her salary in 2013 and 2014, options were down 29.3 percent from the previous year to just under $20 million. Cash bonuses registered a goose egg — as they did with all executive officers within the company — compared with 2014’s total of $1,108,800.

Stock awards were up for Mayer, however, rising 23.3 percent to $14,495,494. An increase in security services and several other line items represented an increase in all other compensation from $28,065 to $548,711.

Mayer’s reign atop Yahoo has been embattled almost since her arrival in 2012. She’s been tasked with transforming the tech company from a fading search giant. Her strategy of investing heavily in high-profile personalities like Katie Couric and takeovers of sites like Tumblr hasn’t yielded the desired growth, resulting in a current auction of the company’s core Internet business.

Should a prospective sale effect a change in control of the company, Mayer stands to receive a severance of $54.9 million.

Last week Yahoo reported adjusted earnings and revenue that were slightly better than Wall Street anticipated, taking a loss of $99.2 million versus a profit of $21.2 million a year earlier.

Revenue slipped 11 percent to $1.087 billion, slightly better than the $1.076 billion analysts expected.

On Wednesday, Yahoo averted a potentially transformative battle with activist shareholder Starboard Value by appointing four new directors suggested by the hedge fund. As a result, Starboard has dropped its fight to replace the entire board.

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