Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks at an event held at the Redmond, Washington, campus on May 20, 2024.
Chona Kassinger | Bloomberg | getty images
microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has decided to increase his pay by more than $30 million in fiscal 2024. But had it not been for a series of cyberattacks, his total package would have been $5.5 million higher.
Nadella received $79.1 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30, up from $48.5 million the previous year, according to a proxy statement filed Thursday. Most of his salary is in the form of stocks. The board’s compensation committee said Nadella had requested that security concerns be reflected in the cash incentive portion.
The request to scale back comes after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security released a report in April on an independent review of China’s breaches of the email accounts of U.S. government officials. Microsoft disclosed the incident in July 2023.
In January of this year, Microsoft revealed that Russian intelligence agencies had accessed some of the email accounts of top Microsoft executives.
Microsoft said it would revamp its practices to address shortcomings highlighted in the government report, saying “customers will benefit from a CEO and board focused directly on the company’s security culture.”
Nadella told employees in a May memo that Microsoft would prioritize security above all else. In June, Microsoft said it would consider employees’ cybersecurity efforts when determining compensation.
The cash incentive portion of Nadella’s salary primarily considers the software maker’s performance relative to revenue and operating profit targets. Originally scheduled for $10.66 million, the full board instead approved $5.2 million in cash incentives.
“Mr. Nadella agreed that the company’s performance was very good, but reflecting his personal commitment to security and his role as CEO, he asked the board to consider moving away from established performance metrics and reducing cash incentives to reflect personal responsibility.” ” Today’s cybersecurity threat environment presents a need for focus and speed,” the committee wrote.
Microsoft’s security business generated more than $20 billion in revenue in 2022. This is more than the total revenue of many security companies.
