Stockholders of cloud computing firm Salesforce (CRM) have voted against the company’s executive compensation plan, including for chief executive officer (CEO) Marc Benioff.
The rejection comes after shareholder advisory groups raised public concerns about large equity awards being granted to Salesforce executives, including Benioff.
According to a regulatory filing, the proposed executive compensation plan received 339.3 million votes in favor and 404.8 million against at the company’s recent annual meeting.
While Salesforce’s board of directors had urged stockholders to vote in favor of the pay plan, shareholder advisory firms Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services recommended that investors vote against the proposal.
Last year, Benioff received $39.6 million U.S. in total compensation from Salesforce, up from $29.9 million U.S. the previous year.
While Benioff’s base salary remained flat at $1.55 million U.S., he received additional stock and option awards as part of his compensation, according to the regulatory filing.
In January of this year, Salesforce’s board of directors gave Benioff a stock award worth $20 million U.S. in recognition of the company’s “…strong financial performance in the fiscal year.”
However, Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services disagreed with the stock award, citing the trailing performance of the company’s stock and disappointing financial results.
Benioff is already among the largest shareholders of Salesforce with a 2% stake valued at close to $6 billion U.S.
However, despite the rejection by shareholders, the vote from the annual meeting is non-binding, meaning the board of directors is not obligated to follow it.
“Our Compensation Committee will consider the outcome of this vote when making future executive compensation decisions,” said Salesforce’s board of directors in a proxy statement.
The stock of Salesforce is flat year to date (up 0.03%) and trading at $256.21 U.S. per share.
Tech Insider
