Barrick to revise compensation plan as shareholders vote ‘no’
Barrick Gold Corporation Chairman John Thornton speaks during company's annual general meeting in Toronto on Tuesday, April 28, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
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Barrick Gold Corp. shareholders voted against Chairman John Thornton’s pay raise, an embarrassing blow to the company that had already revamped its executive compensation plan in wake of Mr. Thornton’s controversial signing bonus two years ago.
“We have heard you loud and clear,” Mr. Thornton said at Barrick’s annual meeting of shareholders.
He said the company would revise how he is compensated in the future.“We will take the feedback and refine the system as it relates to me.”
He said preliminary votes cast showed that 75 per cent voted against and 25 per cent in favour. The official tally will be released once all the votes are counted.
The “no” vote is the second time in three years that investors have rejected Barrick’s compensation practices and comes after a number of shareholders and proxy advisory firms said Mr. Thornton’s 36 per cent pay hike in 2014 was unwarranted as Barrick had underperformed.
Ahead of Barrick’s annual meeting on Tuesday, the company’s compensation committee chair Brett Harvey reached out to shareholders to hear their concerns. Some shareholders said they were unsure anything would change after talking to Mr. Harvey.
The so-called “say on pay” motion is non binding. It is unclear how Barrick’s board of directors will proceed. The company’s new compensation methods score executives against a strict set of goals such as balance sheet strength. But Mr. Thornton’s compensation is much more subjective and determined by the compensation committee.
Barrick has defended its decision to award Mr. Thornton with a 2014 $12.9-million pay package, saying he devised a strategy to improve Barrick’s balance sheet and results. That includes slashing the debt by $3-billion this year and focusing on gold. That plan that is on its way with the company’s latest announcement to sell part of its prized Chilean copper mine, Zaldivar.
“We have heard you loud and clear,” Mr. Thornton said at Barrick’s annual meeting of shareholders.
He said the company would revise how he is compensated in the future.“We will take the feedback and refine the system as it relates to me.”
He said preliminary votes cast showed that 75 per cent voted against and 25 per cent in favour. The official tally will be released once all the votes are counted.
The “no” vote is the second time in three years that investors have rejected Barrick’s compensation practices and comes after a number of shareholders and proxy advisory firms said Mr. Thornton’s 36 per cent pay hike in 2014 was unwarranted as Barrick had underperformed.
Ahead of Barrick’s annual meeting on Tuesday, the company’s compensation committee chair Brett Harvey reached out to shareholders to hear their concerns. Some shareholders said they were unsure anything would change after talking to Mr. Harvey.
The so-called “say on pay” motion is non binding. It is unclear how Barrick’s board of directors will proceed. The company’s new compensation methods score executives against a strict set of goals such as balance sheet strength. But Mr. Thornton’s compensation is much more subjective and determined by the compensation committee.
Barrick has defended its decision to award Mr. Thornton with a 2014 $12.9-million pay package, saying he devised a strategy to improve Barrick’s balance sheet and results. That includes slashing the debt by $3-billion this year and focusing on gold. That plan that is on its way with the company’s latest announcement to sell part of its prized Chilean copper mine, Zaldivar.
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