We like to say we do things differently at the Co-op. Well, this morning we proved it.
On a morning when we reported growing profits and growing investment for our Co-op, Group Chief Executive Richard Pennycook also announced he was taking a voluntary pay cut. Richard’s drop in base pay is around 40% and he’s also changed how he can earn bonus, ensuring it’s clearly linked to business performance and aligned with the arrangements for other Co-op leaders. That takes his total annual remuneration down by a further 20%. That’s not the way CEOs usually behave.
Normally, more profit leads to higher pay (at least for top execs).
And remember, this is also the man named last month as Retail Leader of the Year. Richard’s hardly an underperformer.
The BBC’s Economics Editor, Kamal Ahmed, interviewing Richard on the Today programme was quick to spot the anomaly: “The business is performing well, but you’re announcing that you’re taking a significant pay cut. The club of chief executives aren’t going to thank you for that are they?
“Well, we are in a different club”, was Richard’s swift response.
Read the full article on the Blog of the President of the Co-operative Group
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