Nissan and Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn is set to receive a third salary after Nissan-controlled Mitsubishi Motors approved his appointment 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.
Related: Nissan’s Purchase Of Mitsubishi Is Now Official
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.
The automaker said it was increasing its top-level pay scheme to incentivize executives to improve the company’s management and attract talent.
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.
Related: Nissan Kicks To Become A Global Success
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.
from Reuters
Responsible for delivering local & international automotive news.