It’s news that will make critics of executive pay packages seethe: getting fired from Yahoo (YHOO) will result in a truly massive payout for its former chief operating officer (COO).
After bring recruited away from Google (GOOG) in 2012 by new Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, Henrique de Castro spent just 15 months as Yahoo COO. But that was enough time to receive a golden parachute valued at $58 million. Virtually all of the compensation represents the value of stock awards given to de Castro when he was hired, USA TODAY notes.
At the time, Yahoo said that de Castro’s equity awards were based on his “unique set of valuable skills and experiences” that were critical to revitalizing the struggling Internet pioneer. Less than a year and a half later, Mayer removed de Castro after Yahoo’s ad sales failed to improve.
Some shareholders are suing Yahoo over the cost of the former Yahoo COO’s golden parachute, claiming that the size of the package represented a lapse in fiduciary duty.
The value of de Castro’s equity awards jumped from about $17 million when negotiated to $57 million because YHOO stock has risen sharply during the intervening time, the company noted.
YHOO stock fell more than 1% in Thursday morning trading.
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