Apple CEO Tim Cook has asked for a salary adjustment which will involve a 40% pay cut this year in a move triggered by investor pressure.
In a January 12 filing, the tech company revealed Cook’s 2023 target total compensation is set at $49 million, a reduction of over 40% from his 2022 target.
The iPhone giant said its compensation committee believed the changes are “responsive to shareholder feedback, while continuing both to align pay with performance and to recognize Mr. Cook’s outstanding leadership.”
The change comes following investor discontent over executive pay with almost 36% of shareholders voting in opposition to Apple’s compensation proposal at its March 2022 annual meeting, according to Insightia’s Voting module.
Proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) recommended a vote against. Allianz Global Investors was one of many to heed this advice arguing it did not support “management incentive plans where substantial vesting under relative performance metrics is allowed for performance inferior to that of the selected peer group.”
In Thursday’s filing, the compensation committee also indicated it intends to position Cook’s annual target compensation “between the 80th and 90th percentiles” relative to its primary peer group for future years.
Over 3000 proposals concerning director remuneration went to a vote at U.S.-listed companies last year, with an average opposition of almost 11%.