On the heels of claims from an activist shareholder that it has been paying its top executives way too much over the past several years, Viacom said it has dramatically reduced the compensation packages of its executive chairman Sumner Redstone and CEO Philippe Dauman.
Viacom said in a statement that Redstone’s annual compensation in fiscal 2015 declined 85% to $2 million, versus a total of $13 million in 2014. His salary was unchanged in fiscal 2015. He became ineligible to receive a bonus beginning in fiscal 2015 and has not been eligible to receive an annual equity award since fiscal 2012, the company said.
Dauman’s bonus declined 30% to $14 million in fiscal 2015, versus $20 million in the prior year and his contractually provided salary and annual equity award were substantially unchanged. He received a salary of $4 million in fiscal 2015, versus a salary of $3.9 million in fiscal 2014, and an annual equity award valued at $18.9 million in fiscal 2015, compared with an annual equity award valued at $19.9 million in fiscal 2014.
The news comes a day after shareholder SpringOwl Asset Management issued a 99-page report criticizing the company and calling for the ouster of its management. In the report, SpringOwl claimed that Viacom has paid Dauman and chief operating officer Tom Dooley a combined $432 million over the past five years.
