• Adweek, Wednesday, June 3, 2009 9:30 AM

Ignoring critics, WPP shareholders approved the third round of the holding company's LEAP executive bonus scheme. Under the plan, CEO Martin Sorrell stands to earn around $96 million on an initial investment of $20 million, if WPP outperforms a group of nine companies over five years. Twenty other WPP senior execs are part of the scheme.

While Sorrell stands to enjoy a big payday if WPP shares outperform competitors in each of the five years, no LEAP match will be paid if WPP performs below the median 50th percentile. About 80.4% of shareholders voted in favor of the bonus plan, almost 17% voted against it and the rest abstained.

The Association of British Insurers and other critics warned against the new LEAP plan, but WPP countered that while the scheme is more lucrative than past plans, it is also more demanding. WPP has to outperform the industry's largest players -- including Omnicom and Publicis -- if participants are going to receive a reasonable match. If Omnicom beats WPP, the WPP execs will receive a very small match or none at all.

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