Yahoo's Marissa Mayer gives up her 2017 bonus
Yahoo (YHOO) CEO Marissa Mayer won’t receive an equity bonus for 2017 or a cash bonus for the prior year, she wrote in a blog post Wednesday. Yahoo’s board accepted her offer, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
“When I learned in September 2016 that a large number of our user database files had been stolen, I worked with the team to disclose the incident to users, regulators, and government agencies,” Mayer wrote. “However, I am the CEO of the company and since this incident happened during my tenure, I have agreed to forgo my annual bonus and my annual equity grant this year and have expressed my desire that my bonus be redistributed to our company’s hardworking employees, who contributed so much to Yahoo’s success in 2016.”
The precise dollar amount of the bonus isn’t stated. However, SEC filings from Mayer’s hiring in 2012 indicate a yearly “target bonus” of double her base salary, or $2 million.
Also on Wednesday, Yahoo General Counsel Ronald Bell resigned. He won’t get a payout, SEC filings show.
The company suffered massive security breaches in 2013 and 2014 that exposed a billion users’ personal information -- nearly Yahoo’s entire user base. After the breaches came to light last year, questions arose over whether Yahoo disclosed the information quickly enough, a matter the SEC is investigating.
The breach ended up netting Verizon a $350 million discount in its acquisition of Yahoo. The merger is expected to close in April.