Those Darn Millionaires

[hobie16]

From MousePlanet

The lure that caught Ouimet

For those wondering what it took to entice former Disneyland Resort President Matt Ouimet away from the Disney magic, the answer was provided by Starwood and the Securities and Exchange Commission last week. As part of its regulatory filings, Starwood provided the SEC with the offer letter they sent to Matt Ouimet. You can read the whole thing at the SEC Web site (link).

First of all, the fact that Ouimet's hiring and compensation are worthy of an SEC filing may be an indication of why he might have been interested in the new job. At Disney, even as head of Disneyland he was so far down the executive totem pole that the SEC would never be told his name. But other than the ego boost there was plenty of lucre offered.

Ouimet's starting salary at Starwood will be $700,000. His Disney salary has never been revealed but this is probably a small raise but conceivably a pay cut (the top Disney executive make between $800,000 and $1,00,000 per year). He will also be eligible every year for a bonus of up to 100% of his salary. So his annual salary and bonus could be anywhere between $700,000 and $1.4 million depending on the performance requirements. Additionally, upon being hired he was given $1.25 million in restricted stock and another $1.25 million in stock options. This will be repeated in 2007.

He also won't be required to permanently relocate to corporate headquarter (White Plains, New York) until the end of 2007 so that his son can finish high school in Orange County. To allow Ouimet to commute between California and New York he will be given a reimbursement of up to $1.5 million for airfare (commercial or private).

It is pretty obvious that Matt Ouimet has made a pretty profitable change in career. Assuming that the company doesn't go into the tank.

[darph nader]

DAMN! And I'm looking forward to a $.50 raise after my 90 day probation period.