Warner Bros. Discovery Shareholders Vote Against Executive Pay Packages
The majority of Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders who voted at the company’s 2025 annual meeting believe that CEO David Zaslav and other top managers earn too much. At the annual shareholders meeting on June 2, investors voted on a non-binding "consultation" for the approval of the 2024 remuneration package from Zaslav and the other named managers of the company.
The "Say-on-Pay" Vote
Such a measure is referred to as the "Say-on-Pay" vote, which gives shareholders a voice to express their approval or disapproval for executive remuneration. According to the company’s latest filing, the vote allows shareholders to have a say in the compensation of top executives.
Vote Results
According to the tally reported by WBD, there were 724.5 million shares for the remuneration package and 1.06 billion shares against the measure, with almost 60% of the votes against the salary packages. In addition, there were 5.69 million shares that were abstentions and 307.38 million broker non-votes.
Response from the Board of Directors
The board of Warner Bros. Discovery said, "The Board of Directors of Warner Bros. Discovery estimates the views of all of his shareholders and takes the results of the annual consultation on the remuneration of managers seriously. The remuneration committee of the board is looking forward to continuing its regular practice of constructive dialogue with our shareholders."
Executive Compensation
For 2024, Zaslav’s wage package rose by 4% to $51.9 million, according to the company’s latest proxy declaration. His basic salary was $3 million, and he received stock awards worth $23.1 million, a bonus remuneration of $23.9 million, and "all other" compensation of $1.9 million.
Comparison to Previous Years
Zaslav had a pay package worth $49.7 million in 2023, which rose by 26.5% from the previous year. His compensation was $39.3 million in 2022, after receiving an astonishing $246.6 million in 2021, with $203 million in stock option grants.
Compensation for Other Top Executives
The pay packages for 2024 for the other top executives of Warner Bros. Discovery were:
- CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels: $17 million (flat with his compensation from 2023)
- Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer Bruce Campbell: $19.8 million (up 8%)
- CEO and President of Global Streaming and Games, JB Perrette: $19.7 million (down 2%)
- International President Gerhard Zeiler: $14.8 million (up 11%)
