Source: BloombergLaw by Brian Baxter
Walt Disney Co. extended the employment agreement of its top lawyer, Horacio Gutierrez, two years after hiring him away from Spotify Technology SA.
Disney also promoted Gutierrez to chief legal officer from the role of general counsel. He will continue to serve as Disney’s chief compliance officer, a position he took on earlier this year after the company parted ways with Alicia Schwarz amid mass layoffs at the media conglomerate.
Disney recruited Gutierrez two years ago this month from Spotify, where he was general counsel and helped the podcast and music streaming company battle many of the same technology companies now competing with Disney. Gutierrez joined Spotify in 2016 after serving as general counsel for Microsoft Corp.
He received nearly $15.2 million in total compensation from Disney during fiscal 2022 after being tapped to succeed the Burbank, Calif.-based company’s retired legal chief Alan Braverman. Gutierrez now owns more than $856,000 in Disney stock, according to Bloomberg data.
His amended employment contract increases Gutierrez’s long-term equity incentive annual award to 600% of his new $1.5 million base salary, which going forward cannot be less than that sum each year. Future compensation increases will come at Disney’s discretion, the company said.
Gutierrez reportedly played a key role with other senior executives and the company’s board to oust Robert Chapek as chief executive in late 2022 and bring back longtime former corporate leader Robert Iger.
Read full article: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/disney-gives-top-lawyer-a-raise-extends-employment-contract
