ENOUGH: AT&T Shareholders Vote Against Excessive Executive Compensation
Posted on 05/01/2021
Shareholders of near-U.S.-telecom monopoly AT&T Inc. voted against the company’s executive officer compensation plan. Only 49% of the votes were in favor of AT&T’s executive compensation plan. This is according to preliminary voting results from the AT&T’s annual meeting.
In 2020, AT&T awarded a US$ 52.2 million pay package to Jason Kilar, the head of its WarnerMedia division (Warner Media, LLC), with US$ 49 million taking the form of stock awards vesting over a four-year period. The WarnerMedia segment develops, produces and distributes feature films, television, gaming and other content in various physical and digital formats globally. Jason Kilar joined AT&T in May 2020 and was the best-paid AT&T executive for 2020. In comparison, AT&T Chief Executive Officer John Stankey received US$ 21 million in reported compensation. Kilar is the founding CEO of Hulu.
“Given the dynamic markets in which we operate, the board is laser-focused on attracting and retaining the talent necessary to deliver on our strategic objectives and create shareholder value,” AT&T Chairman William Kennard said on April 30, 2021. “The board will carefully consider today’s advisory vote to ensure that our approach to compensation continues to reflect these principles.”
Public Funds
California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CALSTRS), and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) voted against AT&T’s compensation plan. “We do not feel that all awards have been sufficiently justified,” OTPP said. “As such, we do not support this proposal.”
Norway Government Pension Fund Global (Norges Bank Investment Management) voted in favor of the executive officer compensation plan.
In 2020, activist hedge fund Elliott Management Corporation snagged a US$ 3.2 billion stake in AT&T and demanded changes be made to the company. At March 31, 2021, AT&T had US$ 160.694 billion in long-term debt.
PROPOSAL NAME: Advisory Vote to Ratify Named Executive Officers’ Compensation
Keywords: California State Teachers Retirement System, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan.