Pfizer Lifts CEO's Pay 61% to $27.9 Million With Retention Bonus
- Read gets $8 million special equity award tied to stock price
- Board sees the award as ‘compelling incentive’ for him to stay
Ian Read
Photographer: Andrew Harrer/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Pfizer Inc. boosted Chief Executive Officer Ian Read’s compensation for 2017 to $27.9 million, a 61 percent increase, to ensure he stays on the job.
Read’s pay included an $8 million special equity award that will vest if the drugmaker’s average stock return tops 25 percent for 30 consecutive trading days before the end of 2022, the company said Thursday in a filing. Read, who turns 65 in May, also must remain CEO through at least next March and not work for a competitor for a minimum of two years after that to be eligible.