The Yahoo chief operating officer who was ousted this week after only 15 months is taking home an estimated $60 million in severance, one of the largest golden parachutes ever given to an executive who was fired, according to a CNN report.
Henrique de Castro worked his last day with the company Wednesday after Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer made the decision due to disappointing performance in improving Yahoo’s advertising revenue, the report said.
Mr. de Castro joined Yahoo in late 2012 after six years at Google. He was the highest-profile hire for Miss Mayer and was easily the country’s highest-paid COO.
Experts told CNN that such large severance packages are rarely given to executives who are fired, and that they are normally reserved for those who are retiring or voluntarily leaving the company.
“As a pure severance package due to performance-related termination, de Castro’s exit package is definitely at the top end of the severance we have seen,” said Gary Hewitt, a managing director at GMI Ratings.
The Yahoo payment will vest immediately, and research firm Equilar puts the value of the accelerated vesting of various options and stock grants at $64.6 million, CNN reported.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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