Pearson shareholders vote to reject CEO’s $2.6m pay packet

In the UK, a majority of Pearson voted to reject CEO John Fallon’s £1.5m (A$2.62m) pay packet following a year in which the company made the biggest loss in its history, reports the Bookseller.

The non-binding vote saw 65.59% of shareholders reject Fallon’s pay packet, which was up 20% on the previous year. In response, Fallon reinvested his post-tax bonus of £343,000 (A$600,000) back into Pearson shares, while a spokesperson said the company was ‘disappointed that the advisory vote for this year’s remuneration report was not passed’.

‘The board put a great deal of time and focus into the remuneration process, exercising significant discretion, to make sure we came to a fair conclusion,’ the spokesperson said. ‘We acknowledge our shareholders’ feedback and will continue to engage with them to ensure our approach to remuneration reflects the best long term interests of the company.’

The company’s annual general meeting was ‘dominated’ by questions regarding Fallon’s leadership, with the CEO accused of being ‘asleep on the job’ for failing to anticipate the North American market change.

The company’s first quarter results show Pearson’s underlying revenues are up 6% on last year, while the company also revealed a cost-cutting scheme that aims to be saving £300m (A$525m) annually by 2019.

Category: International news