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Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) shareholders voted against the pay package for top executives, amid concerns over equity awards granted to CEO Marc Benioff.
Around 404.8M votes at the annual shareholder meeting were against the compensation plan, an exchange filing showed, while nearly 339.3M votes were in favor.
Benioff’s fiscal 2024 total pay was $39.6M, compared to $29.9M a year go. While his salary stood at $1.55M, he received additional stock and option awards totaling $30.3M as well as $3.1M non-equity incentive plan compensation.
In January, Benioff received a second long-term equity award worth $20M, which the company said was because of its “transformation and strong performance” last year.
Proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis said shareholders “may reasonably be wary of the substantial discretionary equity grants” issued to Benioff, due to a “lack of a fully convincing rationale,” as quoted by CNBC.
Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services both recommended that shareholders vote against the pay package.
In its proxy statement, Salesforce (CRM) said the shareholder vote is not binding. “However, our compensation committee values the opinions expressed by stockholders and will consider the outcome of this vote when making future executive compensation decisions.”
Salesforce (CRM) shares have risen 21% over the past year, but slipped 2.6% YTD. Its most recent quarterly results and guidance missed estimates, weighed by weaker bookings.