AstraZeneca, golden salary increase for CEO Soriot: it is controversial

AstraZeneca is once again in the eye of the storm, but this time not because of the tensions with Brussels over the timing of the coronavirus vaccine supplies but for the substantial salary bonus promised to its CEO, the Frenchman Pascal Soriot, which several investors in the City consider inappropriate and excessive.
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As anticipated in recent weeks by the Financial Times and relaunched yesterday by the Mail, the board of directors is convened to approve the increase in emoluments in Soriot by another 2.3 million pounds, up to the equivalent of over 20 million euros per year. , against the backdrop of a picture that remains extremely positive for the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical giant in spite of the recent announcement of the non-renewal of the Covid contract with the EU. An increase that not a few shareholders consider more than deserved, numbers and prospects in hand, but which does not find unanimous approval in the financial district of London. Starting with the investors of Aviva Investors or Standard Life Aberdeen, worried about the international image of the company: which produced the vaccine made by the University of Oxford at the cost of production, but was then accused by the European Union of fail to meet delivery deadlines. Other advisory groups have also expressed perplexity, underlining how – due to the health emergency – over half of the CEOs of companies listed in the FTSE100 have had their salaries frozen for 2021. However, the successes achieved by Soriot remain. even before the pandemic, since his arrival at the head of AstraZeneca in 2012, and revenue growth of 11% ($ 7.32 billion) over the past 12 months. “He is worth all that money,” said Samuel Johar, president of Buchanan Harvey, short of the Times.