AstraZeneca boss eyes huge pay rise
INSTITUTIONAL shareholders of AstraZeneca have been holding ongoing discussions with the drug giant's remuneration committee, led by chairman Sir Peter Bonfield, about a new package which would give chief executive Sir Tom McKillop a substantial pay rise.
McKillop earned £1.8m in 2003, excluding options granted on shares.
The talks come at a sensitive time. McKillop has come under growing City pressure following the calamitous 30% plus fall in the AZ share price to 1893p over the past 12 months.
The decline in value follows regulatory setbacks to AZ's potential blockbuster drugs - particularly cholesterol treatment Crestor.
Under new proposals contained in the discussion paper, AZ would introduce much more demanding but potentially lucrative performance criteria for senior management - including finance director Jonathan Symonds - governing the exercise of options under its long-term incentive plan.
An AZ spokesman said: 'The proposals represent a well-considered remuneration policy for a company headquartered in the UK with demanding performance criteria linked to corporate and individual performance and investors' expectations.'
