Bollore's Pay Doubled At Havas In 2013

When Havas shareholders meet on June 5, they will vote on whether to approve the company’s executive compensation package for 2013, when CEO Yannick Bollore earned 570,000 euros, or about $1.2 million at today’s exchange rates.

The vote on pay is advisory, but will still provide some indication of shareholder confidence in the job that Bollore is doing as head of the holding company.

Bollore’s 2013 pay is about double what he made in 2012, according to company filings.

Bollore assumed the top spot at the company last August, succeeding his father Vincent Bollore, who engineered a takeover of the company in 2005.

The company has struggled in recent years, although it made modest progress in 2013, reporting a 2% net profit for the year and 1% increase in organic revenue growth. That was on the low side, compared to its holding company competitors.

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The highest-paid executive at Havas last year was David Jones. Bollore succeeded Jones as CEO of the holding company, but Jones remained CEO of the firm’s flagship agency Havas Worldwide until stepping down earlier this year.

According to company documents, Jones had total remuneration of just under 4.5 million euros last year, or about $6.1 million.

At its upcoming meeting, shareholders will also vote on whether to authorize a proposed share buyback program that would allow the company to buy up to 35 million shares (about 8.6% of outstanding shares) over an 18-month period. The company cited a number of reasons for the proposed authorization, including the possible use of shares for potential acquisitions and potentially for use in employee compensation programs.

Last year, the company spent about $27 million on investments in start-ups or acquisitions of a dozen firms. 

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