Disney CEO Bob Iger saw his total pay package rise to $41.1 million in fiscal 2024, up 30% from $31.6 million in the previous year.
The compensation details were disclosed Thursday in the company’s annual proxy report, which is landing as the succession process at Disney is gearing up ahead of the December 31, 2026 expiration of Iger’s contract. The company has said his successor, drawn from a pool of four internal candidates as well as outsiders, will be selected by early 2026.
Hugh Johnston, the longtime PepsiCo exec who became CFO of Disney in December 2023, made $24.5 million last year. Horacio Guttierez, Disney’s Senior EVP and Chief Legal and Compliance Officer, took home $15.8 million, an increase from $11.6 million in fiscal 2023.
Iger’s package, as is the case with many top execs across media and tech, is weighted toward performance-based incentives, with $1 million of the total accounted for by his base salary. About $18.3 million of his pay came in the form of stock awards, $12 million was option awards, $7.2 million in non-equity incentive plan compensation and $2.1 million classified as “other.”
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Disney’s fiscal year ended September 28, 2024.
The company said its annual shareholder meeting will be held virtually on March 20. A year ago, the meeting was a test for Iger, who faced multiple activist shareholders seeking board of director seats along with widespread changes at the company. Iger and the company managed to outmaneuver the main challenge led by Nelson Peltz, though many of the complaints by Peltz about film studio dysfunction and excess costs were addressed by Iger over the course of the proxy fight.
This year’s meeting is not likely to see similar levels of drama. The company is urging “no” votes on three shareholder proposals dealing with climate-related investments by the company’s retirement plan; participation in the Human Rights Campaign’s annual Corporate Equality Index; and a bid to get the company to acknowledge steering ad and promotional dollars away from platforms “for expressing disfavored political and religious viewpoints.”
An advisory vote will also be held on the compensation of executives, but the vote is non-binding. That means even if a majority were to cast votes against execs’ pay, it would not keep the checks from clearing.