Oracle to pay ex-HP chief Hurd up to $11m in salary and bonus
ORACLE has offered its new co-president, former Hewlett-Packard chief Mark Hurd, a hiring package with a bonus of up to $10m (£6.5m) and options potentially worth tens of millions more.
Oracle, the world’s third-larges software maker, named Hurd co-president on Monday, a month after he stepped down from HP because of a scandal involving expense reports and a female contractor.
According to the offer letter, filed yesterday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Oracle is offering Hurd a starting annual base salary of $950,000 and a bonus of as much as $10m, plus options to purchase 10m Oracle common shares after the next board meeting.
Fred Whittlesey, an executive compensation consultant with the Hay Group, said it was difficult to estimate the value of stock options.
However, he said a “theoretical” estimate based on four years of service and Oracle’s shares reaching $30.60 would make Hurd’s hiring package worth about $72m, with $66m of that in options that vest over four years.
Oracle shares closed at $24.14 on yesterday.