New CEO Pascal Soriot to get over $6 million for moving to AstraZeneca

Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) has made a regulatory disclosure following the grant of share awards to the company’s new chief executive Pascal Soriot in compensation for the forfeiture of long-term incentives from his previous employer, Switzerland’s Roche, revealing that he will receive an overall £4 million ($6.4 million) for loss of incentives by switching allegiance.

AstraZeneca says its executives are incentivized with a mix of salary, bonus and share elements to align their interests with those of shareholders in order to promote the firm’s success and competitiveness in the pharmaceutical sector. Mr Soriot’s remuneration has the following key elements: a base salary of £1.1 million per annum; a target annual bonus of 100% of base salary (with a range of 0%-180%); a target expected value for annual long term Incentive awards of 250% of base salary; and compensation for the loss of his long-term incentives from his previous employer, to a value of £4 million.

In relation to pension arrangements, AstraZeneca will contribute 24% of Mr Soriot’s base salary, which he may choose to invest in the defined contribution pension scheme or take as a cash equivalent. The notice period in his service contract will be two years initially, reducing by one month for each month of service until it stabilizes at a 12 month notice period.