Uber CEO's pay rose to $24 million last year

By Levi Sumagaysay

Uber CEO's 2022 base salary was $1 million

Uber Technologies Inc. Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi's total compensation last year rose 22% to $24.3 million, the company disclosed Tuesday.

The Uber (UBER) CEO's pay package included his $1 million base salary, about $14.3 million in stock awards, about $5.9 million in option awards, a $2.9 million bonus and nearly $170,000 in other compensation that was mostly attributed to personal travel and security costs, according to the company proxy that was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The filing attributed Khosrowshahi's compensation to Uber's 2022 gross bookings climbing 33% year over year, and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, rising by $2.5 billion year over year. In addition, the company's number of monthly active driver and couriers rose 23% and its global base of drivers and couriers is now at a record of nearly 5.4 million, which the company also pointed to as an accomplishment for the CEO.

Khosrowshahi's 2022 compensation was about double his pay package from 2020, when he waived his salary from May to December because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The 2022 CEO-to-employee pay ratio, which the company is required to disclose, was 316 to 1, an increase from 2021, according to the filing. The annual median pay for Uber's 32,900 employees worldwide was $76, 767. The number of employees rose, while the median pay decreased, from the previous year.

Tony West, senior vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary, received total compensation of $10.6 million, including a $2.4 million bonus. Among his accomplishments listed in the proxy was "regulatory progress" related to the company's goal of treating its drivers and couriers as independent contractors and not employees. That progress came in the form of establishing four labor partnerships around the world; advancing Uber's vision of the independent contractor-plus model by supporting bills in Washington state and Chile; and championing and exceeding progress targets for the implementation of Proposition 22 in California.

The total compensation of other top Uber executives last year:

Investors will vote on one shareholder proposal at the company's annual general meeting on May 8. It calls for an independent audit of driver health and safety. "Uber's model of using regulatory loopholes to avoid providing adequate workplace protections and controlling how work is performed has left drivers facing pervasive health and safety issues," the submitted proposal reads.

The company recommends that shareholders vote against the proposal, saying that it already provides "extensive reporting" on its safety initiatives and goals. Additionally, Uber is currently undergoing an independent civil-rights assessment that incorporates the requests of this proposal, the company said in its opposition to the proposal. The results from that will be released this spring, Uber said.

See: Uber safety report says fatalities up, sexual-assault reports down

-Levi Sumagaysay

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03-29-23 0757ET

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