Yahoo's Excessive Severance, According to Executive Compensation Expert Bruce R. Ellig

NEW YORK, Jan. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- "It appears that Yahoo's Chief Operating Officer Henrique de Castro has received a severance package in excess of $29 million. If true, it ranks as one of the most expensive severance packages, especially for less than two years of service," says executive compensation expert Bruce R. Ellig, author of the just-released third edition of The Complete Guide to Executive Compensation.

"De Castro departs with vesting of $29 million of company stock plus $1.2 million to cover the next two years of his salary. He was hired 15 months ago.

"The board should be asking several questions," Mr. Ellig says. "Was the sign-on package excessive? Was the decision to hire de Castro sufficiently evaluated? Was he given sufficient time to meet his marketing challenge? And most importantly, is the severance package excessive given the brief period of employment?"

About Bruce Ellig
Bruce R. Ellig is a noted authority on executive compensation with more than 35 years of experience. Before retirement, he worked at Pfizer Inc. for 12 years as corporate vice president and head of worldwide HR, reporting directly to the chairman and CEO. During this period, he also served as secretary to the board's compensation committee, in addition to being a member of the internal compensation committee, headed by the chairman and CEO. Mr. Ellig has served on several boards of directors (both for-profit and not-for-profit), including as chairman of the national board of directors of The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). He also served on several advisory boards and was a member of numerous premier HR organizations. He is a frequent speaker, and author of well over 100 articles and eight books. Mr. Ellig's expertise has been recognized by his professional peers with numerous honors and awards including several "Man of the Year" awards and the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from SHRM and WorldatWork. He was elected to the National Academy of Human Resources in 1993, a year after its formation. Mr. Ellig received the Distinguished Business Alumni Award from the University of Wisconsin where he earned his BBA and MBA and was elected to Beta Gamma Sigma and Phi Beta Kappa.

SOURCE Bruce Ellig