Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was awarded a $30 million pay raise — 63% more than what he earned last year — even as the Windows maker slashed its workforce by 2,500 people.
Nonetheless, Nadella was rewarded with a significant windfall that would have been higher had it not been for cybersecurity breaches that got the attention of Congress. “Mr. Nadella agreed that the Company’s performance was extremely strong, but reflecting on his personal commitment to security and his role as the CEO, asked the Board to consider departing from the established performance metrics and reduce his cash incentive to reflect his personal accountability for the focus and speed required for the changes that today’s cybersecurity threat landscape showed were necessary,” the committee wrote.
“If you’re faced with the tradeoff between security and another priority, your answer is clear: Do security,” Nadella wrote.