Vodafone's Arun Sarin to Leave Vodafone with US$50 Million

It has been revealed in the company's annual report, that Vodafone's outgoing CEO, Arun Sarin will leave with a total package worth nearly US$50 million when he retires next month. During his five years  at Vodafone, Mr Sarin accumulated shares and options worth US$43.4 million. Some of these can be cashed in when he leaves the company, whilst a portion has to be held until 2009.

On top of this, he earned a total of just under US$7 million this year. Last year, Mr Sarin's total salary and bonus reached US$6.4 million.

Mr SarinÃ's US$43.7 million in shares includes, 8.5 million unvested shares and 20 million unvested options - which total US$23.7 million if targets are hit by next March. In addition he holds 3.55 million unrestricted shares and 11 million unexercised options, which have already vested, totaling US$20 million.

His bonus for the past year will be paid in cash - and unlike previous years, he will not be able to reinvest the cash back into the company.

Sarin will be retiring from Vodafone immediately after the company's AGM on July 29, 2008, when he will be succeeded by current Deputy-CEO Vittorio Colao. He will however retain a consultative capacity until the end of March 2009.

A study from management consultancy Hay Group at the beginning of this year found that Vodafone's Arun Sarin is Europe's highest paid chief executive, with a total direct compensation of €11.37 million as at Sept 2007. His counterpart in the USA, Edward Whitacre, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AT&T is also the highest paid US executive - picking up an equivalent of €18.7 million.

Total pay packages for top UK chief executives typically average to close to €6 million according to the study - but are almost €13 million in the US, some two and half times higher.

While both are running telcos and are the highest paid executives, the companies themselves are not the highest valued firms, with Vodafone ranked 9th in Europe in market capitalisation and AT&T coming fifth.

Posted to the site on 10th June 2008