Nissan's Ghosn poised for
third salary after being confirmed as Mitsubishi
chairman
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[December 14, 2016]
By Maki Shiraki and Naomi Tajitsu
TOKYO
(Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co Ltd and Renault SA CEO Carlos Ghosn is set
to receive a third salary after Nissan-controlled Mitsubishi Motors Corp
on Wednesday approved the Frenchman as its chairman along with a
tripling in compensation for board members.
Shareholders voted in favor of raising the ceiling on combined annual
compensation for Mitsubishi's 11 internal and external directors to 3
billion yen ($26.06 million), including 2 billion yen in salary and 1
billion yen in stock options.
Mitsubishi has revamped top management and appointed Ghosn to head its
11-member board after Nissan in October took a 34 percent controlling
stake in Japan's sixth-largest automaker, which is struggling to recover
from a mileage-cheating scandal.
At a special shareholders meeting, some raised concerns about bumping up
executive pay while Mitsubishi was on track to post an annual net loss
after it overstated the fuel economy on many of its domestic models.
"We didn't think it was appropriate to reduce compensation while
prioritizing the company's recovery," CEO Osamu Masuko told
shareholders.
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The automaker said it was increasing its top-level pay scheme to
incentivise executives to improve the company's management and attract
talent.
"Compensation (excluding stock options) will not be doubled if we don't
return to the black next year, for example. Because compensation will be
merit-based, if our performance is not good, director salaries will
reflect that," he said.
Mitsubishi now has the firepower to raise compensation after paying its
previous board of 10 directors 423 million yen in the year ended March,
below the maximum 960 million yen previously set aside for such
compensation.
The company has yet to determine salary and benefits for Ghosn, and a
breakdown of Wednesday's voting was not immediately available.
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![](../images/121416pics/busine23.jpg)
Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance
attends a joint news conference with Mitsubishi Motors Corp's
Chairman and CEO Osamu Masuko in Tokyo, Japan, October 20, 2016.
REUTERS/Issei Kato
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As the
head of the Renault-Nissan automaker alliance, Ghosn received combined
compensation of around $17 million in 2015 despite a vote by Renault
shareholders against his pay package of 7.2 million euros ($7.65 million)
earlier this year.
Executive pay is a major political issue in France, whose government commands
more than 18 percent of voting rights in Renault. Ghosn last month told Reuters
he expects the government to oppose his pay package in 2017.
Ghosn is already among the top-paid executives in the auto industry, which also
include General Motors CEO Mary Barra, who received a combined $28.6 million in
salary and perks last year, and Ford CEO Mark Fields, who was paid a total of
$18.6 million.
($1 = 115.1100 yen)
($1 = 0.9407 euros)
(Reporting by Maki Shiraki and Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
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