Disgraced Yahoo CEO Thompson Gets No Severance But Still Departs With $7 Million

How does earning $56K a day sound? That’s what former Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson just walked away with, after 124 total days (and fewer business days) on the job and a departure marred by a resume scandal.

Though Thompson isn’t receiving a severance payment, he gets to keep the “make-whole” cash bonus and restricted stock units that had vested, which were valued at $7 million when he joined Yahoo in January.

This is according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing first reported on by AllThingsD.

From the filing:

Yahoo! and Mr. Thompson agreed to terminate all other agreements between them, including Mr. Thompson’s offer letter, all outstanding but not fully vested equity awards and Yahoo!’s other plans and arrangements for the benefit of employees, with no severance compensation. However, in accordance with the terms of his offer letter, Mr. Thompson retained the make-whole cash bonus previously paid to him under his offer letter and the make-whole restricted stock units that had been granted to him pursuant to his offer letter and that had already vested.

According to the hiring filing, Thompson’s original agreement with Yahoo called for him to be paid a severance fee if “…Mr. Thompson’s employment is terminated by the Company without cause or by Mr. Thompson for good reason….” This indicates Thompson’s departure was considered to be with cause — the resume flap that began when activist investor Third Point publicly revealed that Thompson’s public biography, which listed him as having a computer science degree, was incorrect.

Though Thompson denied actively fudging the qualifications, he personally certified a SEC filing that listed the incorrect information. In a radio interview, he didn’t deny having the degree despite being specifically asked about it.

As for Ross Levinsohn, who was formerly EVP of Americas, his compensation won’t change as a result of being appointed interim CEO.

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About the author

Pamela Parker

Pamela Parker is Research Director at Third Door Media's Content Studio, where she produces MarTech Intelligence Reports and other in-depth content for digital marketers in conjunction with Search Engine Land and MarTech. Prior to taking on this role at TDM, she served as Content Manager, Senior Editor and Executive Features Editor. Parker is a well-respected authority on digital marketing, having reported and written on the subject since its beginning. She's a former managing editor of ClickZ and has also worked on the business side helping independent publishers monetize their sites at Federated Media Publishing. Parker earned a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University.