As research firm footnoted* points out in a June 1st report, Hertz filed an 8-K last week that disclosed severance pay for Hertz Equipment Rental Corp. CEO Brian MacDonald. As the filing noted, MacDonald resigned just a few days ago on May 20th, and it looks like he will walk away with a total of at least $8.1 million in severance.
However, unlike most corporate resignation announcements, this time Hertz did not even bother with the usual “personal reasons” or “spend more time with the family” excuses. It was the same for the usual language about “no disagreements” typically seen in 8-K filings announcing an unexpected departure.
More on Hertz CEO Brian MacDonald resignation and severance package
The press release from Hertz did not even include the de rigeur quote from the CEO praising MacDonald. Instead, the firm’s statement quoted CEO John Tague was as saying that new HERC CEO Larry Silber “will reenergize HERC’s performance on the topline and importantly in dollar value utilization, which is a key performance driver for this industry.”
That said, MacDonald is not crying in his coffee. According to the filing, he will receive $5.1 million in severance, a $3 million payment in lieu of equity awards, an to-be-determined bonus for 2015 as well as two years of health coverage. That’s some pretty nice compensation for barely 11 and a half month’s work.
The contract appointing MacDonald as interim CEO last September after Mark Frissora left notes that if Hertz, which has not filed a 10-K or 10-Q since March 2014, did not meet its regulatory requirements by the time of MacDonald’s departure, he would receive an additional $3 million.
Of interest, footnoted* points out that it flagged Hertz more than any other firm in 2014, mainly because of all the late filings and the disclosures its made in those filings. The company now claims it will file by mid-year, but it had also promised filings by last November and June 30th.
Hertz paid $12 million in severance to two other execs late last year
The footnoted* report also highlights MacDonald isn’t the only executive who Hertz has paid large severance packages to recently. An SEC 8-K filing from mid-September indicates that ex-HERC CEO Frissora received more than $10 million in severance from the company. Moreover, late last year, former Hertz General Counsel Jeff Zimmerman resigned, and received close to $2 million as part of his severance package.
