雅虎CEO梅耶尔坐拥巨额赔偿协议

Yahoo's Mayer Has Huge Compensation Package 雅虎CEO梅耶尔坐拥巨额赔偿协议

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has a huge pay package, although her company’s share price has slumped², reports Bloomberg News.

She is the 23rd-highest paid executive of 200 on the Bloomberg Pay Index. Top executives often receive a pay, or compensation package that includes cash, with options to buy stock in their company, known as “stock options.”

The shares of her company, Yahoo! Inc., are down more than nine percent since February 2014. But her stock options are still worth $14 million after the stock slide, according to Bloomberg. This is because the options given to her in 2014 are valued at the company’s share price 15 months earlier.

Stock and options are given to executives to motivate them. If the company does well, the stock and options are more valuable. Both Mayer and the other shareholders³ earn more.

Stock options are often tied to performance goals.

But Mayer’s stock option arrangement is unusual.

Only one other CEO in the Bloomberg Pay Index “benefits from such a structure,” wrote Bloomberg.

Alan Johnson is managing director of compensation consulting firm Johnson Associates. He told Bloomberg that Mayer’s compensation has “been a windfall for her.”

Yahoo hired Mayer to revamp the struggling website company. The stock climbed 123 percent under her leadership. That was partly because Yahoo has a stake, or part, in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., reports Bloomberg.

Mayer has “struggled to show headway turning around Yahoo’s own business,” reports Bloomberg. 

In 2014, Mayer’s total pay, including cash and stock, increased 69 percent to $42 million, according to Yahoo. She received stock valued at about $11.8 million and options valued at $28.2 million. 

Yahoo’s board praised her performance in 2014.

“Ms. Mayer provided strong leadership overall to the company,” the board said in a statement. “She significantly improved the company’s reputation and revitalized the company’s employee base.”

Last week, Yahoo’s board decided⁴ not to move forward with a spin-off of its $32 billion stake in Alibaba, according to the New York Times. The stake in Alibaba is Yahoo’s most valuable asset. Instead, the board announced that Yahoo would pursue a spinoff of its core Internet business. 

Mayer’s leadership of Yahoo has come into question at a time when the company seems to be in a slump¹. 

“Yahoo’s core Internet operations are struggling, even though Ms. Mayer has made dozens of acquisitions, added original video and magazine-style content, and released new apps,” reports the New York Times. 

Words in This Story

compensation – n. payment given for doing a job

slump – v. to decrease suddenly and by a large amount

motivate – v.  to give (someone) a reason for doing something

windfall – n. an unexpected amount of money that you get as a gift, prize, etc.

revamp – v. to make (something) better or like new again

headway – n. to move forward or make progress

reputation – n.  the common opinion that people have about someone or something : the way in which people think of someone or something

revitalize – v. to make (someone or something) active, healthy, or energetic again

1 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。

2 slumped   

大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下]

参考例句：

• Sales have slumped this year. 今年销售量锐减。
• The driver was slumped exhausted over the wheel. 司机伏在方向盘上，疲惫得睡着了。

3 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。