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Wyeth CEO Got 69% Pay Raise; Was "Required" to Use Helicopter; Plus $24 Million Pfizer Sale Bonus

By Jim Edwards

Updated on: March 30, 2009 / 10:56 AM EDT / MoneyWatch

Wyeth CEO Bernard Poussot received a 69 percent compensation raise in 2008, to $21.3 million, in addition to a $24 million change-in-control bonus for selling his company to Pfizer.*

Wyeth also took the explanation of executive perks to new levels, saying that Wyeth "requires" Poussot to travel on private jets and helicopters even for "personal" reasons:

For security and other reasons, the Wyeth board of directors requires that, when feasible, Mr. Poussot use the corporate aircraft for personal flights. Prior to his retirement, this requirement also applied to Mr. [Robert] Essner [the former chairman].

Overall, top management at Wyeth saw their pay increase 37 percent to a combined $64 million. In 2007, top management shared $54 million.

Wyeth's top five executives -- including Poussot -- will also share a jackpot $64 million change-of-control bonus for saying yes to the Pfizer acquisition.

According to a Pfizer proxy document filed with the SEC, this was Wyeth management's compensation in 2008:

Name, 2008 pay, 2007 pay
CEO Bernard Poussot, $21.3 million, $12.6 million
CFO Gregory Norden, $7.7 million, $3 million
SVP/President Joseph Mahady, $9.8 million, $7.2 million
General counsel Lawrence Stein, $6.3 million, NA
SVP R&D Mikael Dolsten, $2.8 million, NA
Ex-Chairman Robert Essner, $20.9 million, $24.1 million
Ex-SVP R&D Robert Ruffalo Jr., $4.7 million, $6.7 million

In addition, management received these bonuses for the change in control:

Total bonuses in cash, perks, benefits and cash incentives:
CEO Bernard Poussot, $24 million
CFO Gregory Norden, $12.8 million
SVP/President Joseph Mahady, $12.4 million
General counsel Lawrence Stein, $8.2 million
SVP R&D Mikael Dolsten, $6 million Does not include stock vesting, performance share unit awards, "RSUs", pension and benefits, deferred compensation.

As for other management perks:

Other execs may use the jets and 'copters with the permission of the CEO.
Poussot and Essner both retain a car and driver.
Norden receives a leased apartment near Madison. N.J.; Poussot gets housing expenses for living near Madison.
Poussot and Norden are provided with the use of the corporate helicopter and company automobiles for commuting pruposes, and are remibursed for the tax liability for any imputed income.
Dolsten received relocation benefits.
Execs were reimbursed in the event any free travel was regarded as a tax liability. Poussot opted not to receive the reimbursement in lieu of making personal use of the aircraft (i.e. he preferred the tax liability), which resulted in a cash saving for Wyeth.

The total change-in-control bonus, including stocks, was previously estimated at $75 million, according to compensation analyst Equilar.

* This sentence originally contained a typo in the dollar number for 2008 compensation. Apologies.