GGA’s Insights

On February 27, 2017 Lenovo executive, Gerry Smith, will become the new CEO of Office Depot. This appointment comes in the wake of current CEO, Ronald Smith’s announcement of his intention to retire from the role, but continue as Chairman.

Luis Navas, Senior Partner, Global Governance Advisors, in a conversation with Sun Sentinel expressed that he sees this as being a good change, a good practice. Luis also believes that investors played a critical role in pushing for a non-executive Chairman.

In lieu of a 2016 bonus that Gerry will be giving up at Lenovo, he is scheduled to receive $1.2 million in cash five days following his start in this new role. While Luis agrees that it is usual practice to pay out bonuses owed from a previous role, he also pointed out that the SEC filing does not clarify how much Gerry is leaving on the table in Lenovo equity.

Full story here.