Disney Executive Made OVER $8 MILLION in Less than 4 Months

Corporate executives can bring in some serious CASH (as well as stock options, bonuses, and more) when in their high-profile jobs, but one executive at Disney made a lot in a short amount of time!

2022 brought a number of big changes in executive leadership at Disney, with the departure of Bob Chapek as CEO, the return of Bob Iger as CEO, the termination or registration of other executives, and more. But now we’re getting an inside look at just what some of those compensation packages looked like for the executives we gained and lost.

In January of 2023, Disney filed a “Preliminary Proxy Statement” with the SEC. This was submitted ahead of the 2023 annual meeting of shareholders and amidst the proxy battle forming due to Trian Group’s desire to get Nelson Peltz a seat on Disney’s Board of Directors.

The Walt Disney Animation Studios in Burbank, California.

In the report, Disney reveals a number of things, like a timeline of the discussions it had with Peltz, a look at the items to be voted on, director and executive compensation, and more.

When it comes to executive compensation, there are some interesting figures worth looking at. One that has drawn some attention is the compensation of former Disney executive Geoff Morrell. Morrell joined Disney on January 24th, 2022 as the Communications Chief. But, his departure was announced just a few short months after, on April 29th, 2022. The report reveals that the company made the “unilateral decision” to terminate Morrell effective June 30th, 2022.

In light of the political and social challenges Disney faced while Morrell was in his position, perhaps his departure did not come as a surprise. Disney had faced heavy criticism for its response (and initial lack thereof) to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Bill (what critics call the “Don’t Say Gay” bill). This ultimately led (in a way) to the passage of a bill that will dissolve Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District in 2023.

But, just because Morrell’s time on the job was short, doesn’t mean he didn’t make some serious money. The SEC filing from Disney reveals just how much compensation Morrell got for his mere months in the position.

First, it details that in connection to his hiring, Morrell was provided a $2,750,000 bonus to “replace foregone compensation from his previous employer.” He was also paid $500,000 to accommodate how much he spent on moving his family internationally for this position.

Burbank Disney Company Headquarters ©️LA Times

But the report goes into even more detail about Morrell’s overall compensation for the entire fiscal year. Morrell made over $8 MILLION for fiscal year 2022 ($8,365,403 to be exact). That amount includes his $2,750,000 bonus, as well as a $489,500 salary, over $1,000,000 in option awards, nearly $3,000,000 in stock awards, and more.

Considering the fact that there were only about 68 business days (no weekends or holidays) between January 24th and April 29th, that would mean Morrell earned around $123,020 per day. Of course, this is a simplification of the situation, as some of his compensation is in stock awards, etc. but it still shows just how MUCH he made in a short period of time.

To be clear, his pay was significantly less than, say, then-CEO Bob Chapek, who earned $24,183,003 for fiscal year 2022, or Christine McCarthy (CFO) who earned $20,235,669 for fiscal year 2022. Iger also earned more in fiscal year 2022, with a total compensation amount of $14,998,299.

But Morrell did earn more than Paul J. Richardson (Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer) and Kristina K. Schake (Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer).

And Morrell stands to earn more. According to the report, if he “successfully completes all of the terms of his post-employment consulting agreement and general release,” he’ll be entitled to the following:

$2,506,849 in remaining base salary through the end of his original employment agreement term;
$1,500,000 equivalent to a target bonus for fiscal 2022; and
a buyout of the home Mr. Morrell purchased in Southern California.

In terms of the home Morrell purchased, Disney said they took actions “consistent with past relocation practices for unique circumstances.” In June of 2022, a third-party vendor bought the property on Disney’s behalf at the same price the property was originally bought. Disney will go through a sale process and get the gains (or losses) of the sale of the property. As of October 2022, the property had not been sold.

In its report, Disney notes that the Compensation Committee approved the termination payments for Morrell because of the “unique factors specific to his situation,” including his international move.

Disney claims, “This decision was made in the best interest of the Company and, we believe, will mitigate further disruption to the Company.”

But Disney is already facing heavy criticism for its executive compensation packages, and this may complicate matters further. Activist investor Nelson Peltz of the Trian Group has been fighting for a seat on Disney’s Board of Directors, and the battle is getting ugly.

Peltz has criticized Disney for a number of things but, important to this issue, has said that there has been “poor corporate governance on Disney’s part, including failed succession planning” and “over-the-top compensation practices.”

For a timeline of the Peltz/Disney battles, click here. And you can click here to see what Disney has had to say about whether Peltz is qualified to sit on the Board.

We’ll keep watching for updates from Disney, particularly as the proxy battle involving Peltz continues to take shape. Keep checking back with us for the latest details.