AA chief fired for 'Clarkson moment' could lose nearly £100million in share options

dowie

dowie

dowie

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...son-moment-could-lose-valuable-multi-million/

he former executive chairman of the AA who was sacked after a Jeremy Clarkson style bust-up with a colleague faces losing share options worth nearly £100 million.

Bob Mackenzie, 64, was in line for a massive payout if the company hit a series of annual targets.

But, his dismissal for gross misconduct on Tuesday means the AA can now strip him of the 33 million performance related shares he was given when he floated the company on the stock exchange two years ago. Those shares could have been worth up to £95 million if the AA’s stock market value reached set levels over the next few years.
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That is quite an expensive punch!

Fair enough though, if it happened to any other employee then they'd lose their future benefits/bonus etc.. too. Hopefully they don't make any payments/share issues to him that they're not forced to.
 
Seems a bit confused in the article whether they are pending or already awarded. Atleast where I work once awarded they can't be stripped even if you are subsequently fired for gross misconduct.
 
they seem to have a clawback clause in the contract:

However, a clause in the contract dealing with these special options refers to how the AA can “acquire all of his management value participation shares” if they become “bad leavers” who are dismissed.
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LTIPs can have market, non market and time served conditions. Ultimately if he is classed as a "bad leaver" and there is a time served requirement then he has effectively forfeited. I imagine this will circle in the courts for some time to come.
 
How the heck was he ever in line for 100m of shares in the first place? Obscenely discusting, could make every UK resident a millionaire overnight if distributed fairly evenly!
 
Forget the shares of employee nonsese.

Since when did punching a colleague become a "Clarkson moment"?
 
I'm not suggesting I deserve some of the shares, but using that analogy of spreading the share wealth to demonstrate how bloody ridiculous it is that one person gets a performance bonus that could change the lives of the lowest UK earners in an instant.

All because he was at the helm during stock market float.

I dread to think how many other CEOs have been given unjustifiable share bonuses like this, for simply being in the right place at the right time, eg. Moya Greene at Royal Mail?
 
Rroff said:
Seems a bit confused in the article whether they are pending or already awarded. Atleast where I work once awarded they can't be stripped even if you are subsequently fired for gross misconduct.
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Where you works sounds like the outlier. Most places will grant the options, then you have to stick around for a number of years until they vest.
 
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