Sanofi executive packages pass but not without dissent from investors

Shareholders in French drug major Sanofi (Euronext: SAN) passed resolutions to approve the pay package for its new chief executive Olivier Brandicourt and the severance package for his predecessor, Chris Viehbacher.

The former was passed by a 64% majority, and the latter by 61%, leading Dr Brandicourt open to earning up to 4.2 million euros ($4.7 million) per year and an additional 4 million euros in signing bonuses, as well as a pension package based on the equivalent of 10 years’ seniority. Mr Viehbacher’s 4.4 million euros in severance was also approved.

Although both packages were approved, the figures mean that in both cases, around a third of shareholders cast votes against the resolutions on executive remuneration, or abstained. This is in contrast with most resolutions at the same annual meeting on Monday passing with approvals in the high 90s. Investor advisory group ISS spoke out against the executive remuneration packages, saying Dr Brandicourt’s pay “goes against market standards in France,” and that it was a “poor and shareholder-unfriendly practice” to vote on his pension with other terms in a single resolution.