For the second straight year, Coca-Cola shareholders passed an executive pay package Wednesday that some institutional investors say is excessive and fails to match the company’s performance.
The packages, which Coke leaders said they have fixed to more clearly define performance measurements and reduce ties to stock options, was passed by 80.4 percent of the votes cast on the “say on pay” advisory shareholder resolution.
Investors Wintergreen Advisers, the California State Teachers’ Retirement System and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board voted against the plan, complaining of missed targets, the lowering of performance hurdles and bonus limits that are too high.
Wintergreen also said Coke underestimated CEO Muhtar Kent’s pay in the proxy, which Coke denies. Kent received compensation of about $25.2 million in 2014, from a combination of salary, benefits, stocks — including a $7.1 million increase in the value of his pension — according to an AJC analysis.
In other news, billionaire Warren Buffett, a former board member and the surprise guest at the annual meeting, was introduced with a video of him strumming a ukulele and singing a few lines from the iconic “I’d Like to Buy the World A Coke” from the brand’s “Hilltop” commercial.
“Of course, I could buy the world a Coke, but I don’t think our shareholders would go for that,” Buffett said to laughter.
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