GenevaLunch and sources - Daniel Vasella, CEO of pharmaceutical giant Novartis, will not have a golden handshake written into his contract after the current one expires in 2009. The change is a victory for those shareholders who have been battling the company in recent years over what they see as excessive remuneration packages for top managers.
Vasella shares the top payment slot for managers in Switzerland with banker Marcel Ospel of UBS. How much he earns depends on who you ask, Le Temps points out: according to the Novartis annual report he earned SFr21 million in 2006, but according to the Ethos Foundation he earned SFr44m. The golden handshake, a parachute in case the company lets him go, is worth five years of salary. Ethos, a number of English institutional investors and the Swiss AVS (social security) were among the shareholders who led the campaign against the pay packages.