Apple cooks up golden handcuffs for new CEO

Stephen Withers
Monday, 29 August 2011 15:10

IT Industry - Listed Tech

Tim Cook, Apple's new CEO, has been fitted with a pair of golden handcuffs worth a third of a billion dollars.

The bonus that Tim Cook received last year for serving as acting CEO while Steve Jobs was on medical leave left little doubt as to the board's opinion of his talents. $US5 million in cash and shares that were at the time worth almost $17 million (now closer to $29 million) is nothing to be sneezed at.

Mr Cook was appointed CEO last week following Mr Jobs' resignation from the top job at Apple (Mr Jobs continues as an Apple employee and has become chairman of the company). On Friday Apple disclosed that Mr Cook has been granted 1 million shares in the company, providing he stays the course. The first tranche of 500,000 shares will vest if he is still with the company in five years time, and the remainder five years after that.

Those shares are currently valued at $US383.58 million. That gives Mr Cook a considerable incentive to at least maintain the value of Apple shares, which is presumably in line with what investors want.

The five and ten year thresholds should encourage him to take a long-term view, at least until this decade is out.