Paramount CEO Bob Bakish received total compensation last year of $20 million, a drop of nearly $19 million compared to 2020.
Bakish took in $3.1 million in salary and another $16.8 million in non-equity compensation last year. In 2020, Bakish’s nearly $39 million haul was inflated by the value of $16 million in stock awards that he received plus a $19.7 million bonus. Last year, per Paramount’s disclosure, Bakish did not receive a cash bonus or additional stock awards.
In detailing the executive compensation totals for 2021, Paramount cited in its proxy report that the company successfully launched the Paramount+ streamer (on the back of CBS All Access) in March 2021. It also hailed the management team for having “successfully executed a strategy that shifted our focus to growing the number of global streaming subscribers and increasing global streaming revenue while maximizing revenues from traditional sources to help fund the growth opportunity in streaming.”
The proxy filing also cited Paramount’s acquisition of Chilean network Chilevision and FoxTelecolombia & Estudios TeleMexico as accomplishments for the year.
Paramount chief financial officer Naveen Chopra took home $4.1 million in his first full year with the company. In 2020, he received $7.5 million worth of stock awards and a $2 million bonus, taking his total compensation to $11.3 million. Last year, Chopra took in $2.6 million in non-equity comp.
Paramount’s proxy statement made it clear that growth in streaming is the overwhelming focus of Paramount’s business operations, and as a result, its executive compensation blueprint.
For this year’s bonus plan, Paramount disclosed it has “combined financial and streaming-based quantitative performance goals in the 2021 (Short-Term Incentive Plan) design to emphasize our focus on accelerated streaming growth while also meeting our bottom-line financial goals,” Paramount stated. “Given the Committee’s and management’s assessment that the 2021 STIP design was successful in driving and rewarding desired behaviors, for 2022, the Committee determined to continue with generally the same performance metrics.”
