Delta CEO Richard Anderson, who formally handed the controls to his successor on Monday, earned $15.8 million in total compensation in 2015.
That’s down from nearly $17.6 million a year earlier. The decline is due to a payout under a one-time award plan that increased stock awards to Anderson in 2014, according to Delta’s proxy statement, filed Friday in advance of the company’s June 10 annual meeting in New York.
Anderson’s compensation for 2015 included a salary of $800,000, stock awards of nearly $7.7 million, option awards of $3.8 million, $3.2 million in other incentives and $341,799 in other compensation including retirement benefits, life insurance and perqs.
New CEO Ed Bastian, who has been Delta’s president, had $9 million in total compensation in 2015. That included $625,000 in salary, $4 million in stock awards, $2 million in option awards, $2.2 million in other incentives and $233,710 in other compensation.
Although Ed Bastian has years of tenure at Atlanta-based Delta, he said he’ll take a fresh look at the company as CEO.
“Any time you see a leadership change at the top of the company, it provides the opportunity for, “What about this? And are we thinking that?”
Delta had a strong run under Anderson, who arrived when it was recovering from a trip through bankruptcy. It was among the industry’s most profitable carriers by the end of tenure.
Delta passengers will be introduced to Bastian via the in-flight videos that welcome them on board. Gradually through the month of May, the company will replace the message from Anderson with a video of the new CEO.
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