New AstraZeneca CEO to get up to £4m for leaving rival Roche
ANGLO-SWEDISH pharma giant AstraZeneca revealed yesterday that it lured its new CEO to the firm with a multi-million pound remuneration package, including a base salary of £1.1m a year.
Pascal Soriot, who joined from arch rivals Roche on 1 October, will also be granted up to £4m in compensation for the loss of long-term incentives from his previous employer, the firm said.
The award will be paid in shares, conditional on performance and stretched over an eight year period.
Soriot will also be eligible for potentially lucrative annual bonus payments, especially if he can turn around the company’s fortunes.
AstraZeneca’s statement included reference to a target annual bonus of 100 per cent of base salary with a range of zero to 180 per cent.
The new CEO has his work cut out, after his new employer last week announced a 19 per cent decline in revenue during its third quarter.
Poor results and a worrying outlook culminated in then-CEO David Brennan being ousted by shareholders earlier this year.