The Apple Exec Who Out-Earns the CEO
One of the most powerful women in technology has out-earned her boss, Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Angela Ahrendts, Apple's senior vice president of retail and online stores, earned a hefty $73 million pay package in 2014, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
After a banner year at Apple, with the release of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, Cook earned an incentive bonus that brought his compensation to $9.2 million -- double of what he received the previous year.
Even still, several other Apple executives, including Ahrendts, earned more money than Cook in 2014 due to stock awards.
The company's new chief financial officer, Luca Maestri, scored a $14 million compensation package for 2014, the SEC filings show.
But Ahrendts, who joined the company in May 2014 after stepping down as the CEO of British clothing brand Burberry, was by far the top earner at the world's most valuable company.
According to the filings, Ahrendts received stock awards worth $70 million -- which were part hiring bonus, part compensation for the stock options she had to forfeit when leaving Burberry.
While Ahrendts had a sizable windfall -- plenty of which is on paper -- it's likely that her payday, and Maestri's, will be more in line with their peers for 2015.
Apple's SEC filing notes that "limited exceptions" are made for awards for new hires or in connection with promotions. Ahrendts and Maestri both joined the company last year.
"Because the Company's executive officers operate as a team, the Compensation Committee considers internal pay equity to be an important factor in its decisions on executive compensation," the filing said. "In subsequent years, Ms. Ahrendts and Mr. Maestri are expected to receive the same annual compensation package as other executive officers."
Shares of Apple stock opened at $112.32 today, up more than 40 percent in the past year. The company will report earnings for its first fiscal quarter on Jan. 27.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
