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Good bye from Dan V





I appreciate a CEO has more responsibility and risk that one of us working in the field. I appreciate he is being paid to not work in the industry for a few years. However, the severance package is grotesque and disgusting. What measurement was used to determine his performance and effectiveness for justifying this pay? How does this mesh with endless years if 1 and 2% raises for those in the trenches? I don't expect my pay, bonus, and severance tolook like that of a CEOs but this is enough to make me look elsewhere for work. It is another Novartis embarassment.
 




It's now called the "Golden Handjob" and he comes with excitement for the next few years as NVS continues to pay him! I guess all you ex-employees got "jerked off". Don't worry the rest here are next!
 




The board signed off on it. They wrote it in his contract. Would you turn it down if you were in his place? Of course not. If you are going to be pissed off about the money he is getting, get mad at the board. They sold out.
 




They should of never paid him more. If he wanted to work for another company
Let him. If anything, the extra money should be never to work again in Pharma. Not take a few yrs off. I hope the board gets a 1.1 rating. They earned it.
 




I would like to take this time to thank all of the sales forces for implementation and continued growth of all of our family brands. It is with great heartfelt emotion that I leave you all and go to another company to rape and pilage the hard working sales members and their families while I cut them from their jobs so I can again reap a large bonus.
 




Not so fast Danny Boy. Novartis has found a way to screw you too:
Novartis cancels chairman Vasella's $78 million non-compete agreement

By Matthew Dennis
Created 02/19/2013 - 03:59
Novartis announced Tuesday that the non-compete agreement [1] with outgoing chairman Daniel Vasella that was to be worth up to 72 million Swiss francs ($78 million) has been cancelled. Current vice chairman Ulrich Lehner said "we believe the decision to cancel the agreement and all related compensation addresses the concerns of shareholders and other stakeholders."

Last month, Novartis reported [2] that Vasella will not stand for re-election on February 22, with Jörg Reinhardt, chairman of Bayer's healthcare unit, nominated to fill the role effective August 1. However, details of the non-compete agreement, under which Vasella would have received up to 12 million francs ($13 million) annually for six years, were only recently revealed and came just ahead of a Swiss referendum that would give shareholders of companies veto power over executive compensation plans.

Commenting on the news, Vasella remarked that "I have understood that many people in Switzerland find the amount of the compensation...unreasonably high, despite the fact I had announced my intention to make the net amount available for philanthropic activities." Novartis noted that the agreement was "intended to protect the company," as it required that Vasella refrain from making his knowledge and know-how available to competitors.
 




Isn't it funny that we sign non competes with nothing given to us in return? It's great they have cancelled this deal. It was simply bad business. Give a guy his flat salary for a couple of years OK, but this was simply wrong.