Telstra CEO Thodey sees 60% pay jump
Telstra CEO David Thodey's pay packet has bounced back tremendously in the last financial year, rising 60 per cent from $3.1 million to $5.1 million, according to the telco's annual report released today.
Telstra CEO David Thodey
(Screenshot by Josh Taylor/ZDNet Australia)
While Thodey's base salary only increased by around $100,000 from $1.9 million to $2 million last financial year, the majority of this year's total pay rise came through short-term incentives and shares paid to the chief executive for meeting thresholds linked to Telstra's financial performance, customer satisfaction, as well as personal key performance indicators. These payments accounted for a collective $1.5 million.
According to the report, Thodey received 49 per cent of the total possible short-term incentive payments he could have received, compared to 21.7 per cent last year.
As of 1 October, the Telstra board has also approved a 6 per cent pay rise for Thodey's base pay, up to $2.4 million.
The bump in pay came after a slight pay cut last year, down to $3.1 million from $3.5 million when he took over the role from Sol Trujillo in 2009. Despite the significant pay rise, Thodey's wage is still much lower than his predecessor, who received $13.4 million in pay in 2008 and $9 million in the following year.
Although the company saw a 16.8 per cent profit slump in the last financial year, from $3.8 million to $3.2 million for the financial year ending 30 June 2011, it has been viewed as largely a successful year for the nation's largest telco, with the company adding 1.66 million customers in the 12 months to 30 June. The additions, picked up from rivals Optus and Vodafone, brought Telstra's total mobile customer base to 12 million.
In announcing the results last month, Thodey said that the positive trend for the company was expected to continue and he forecast single-digit growth for the company in the 2012 financial year.
Outgoing chief financial officer John Stanhope also saw a significant rise in his pay up to $3.2 million from $2.3 million in 2010, while Sensis CEO Bruce Akhurst received a pay rise of $1 million, from $1.9 million to $2.9 million. In his first year with the company, chief customer officer Gordon Ballantyne picked up $2.8 million, and managing director for applications and ventures Deena Shiff saw her pay jump from $1.8 million to $2.3 million.
Thodey's pay rise moves him closer to other highly paid executives such as outgoing Commonwealth Bank CEO Ralph Norris, who this year took a pay cut from $16.1 million to $8.6 million.