The following appears on Forbes.com
Meg Whitman, chief executive at Hewlett-Packard, has received a 150 million per cent increase in her salary to what the company calls a “competitive” level.
The increase sees her go from a one dollar token salary, to a $1.5 million pay packet. It is backdated to November 1.
In 2011, when Meg Whitman was appointed chief executive of HP, it was relatively normal for heads of technology companies to accept an almost zero salary, given the financial climate. However, that financial climate continues somewhat, and many of the executives have continued to receive significant stock benefits and options.
In a regulatory filing issued on Tuesday, HP stated that the new pay packet is on a “competitive level among the salaries of the chief executive officers of HP’s peer companies”. Whitman is pushing to drive a turnaround at HP.
The salary raise comes one month after HP reported a $1.4 billion profit for the fourth quarter, news that pleased investors. However, its sales figures have continued to decline, across many business segments, particularly software, hardware and printing.
