SEATTLE – Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella received a pay package worth US$79.1 million (S$104.3 million) for fiscal 2024, a 63 per cent increase from 2023 as the software maker worked to extend its strong position in artificial intelligence tools.
Mr Nadella’s pay would have been about US$5 million higher had he not requested a pay cut “to reflect his personal accountability” for changes the company is making to reflect cyber security risks, Microsoft’s board compensation committee wrote in the filing.
The company has faced mounting scrutiny in recent years, including from the US Cyber Safety Review Board, for a series of embarrassing hacks of its software.
About 90 per cent of Mr Nadella’s compensation for the year ended in June was in Microsoft shares, the company said in a regulatory filing on Oct 24. It is the largest award he has received in any year since he was paid US$84 million in 2014, the year he became Microsoft’s third CEO.
“The board reviewed the company’s performance and strongly believes that Mr Nadella provided exceptional leadership and was both critical in achieving both the extremely strong performance of the company and personally responsible for the ongoing repositioning of its investments and priorities,” the committee wrote.
Chief financial officer Amy Hood’s pay package for fiscal 2024 rose to US$25.8 million, an increase of 30 per cent from a year earlier, according to the filing. President Brad Smith got a 29 per cent bump to US$23.4 million. BLOOMBERG
