iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
An Indian-origin CEO of an American-based solid-state battery company got approved a multimillion-dollar pay package that one proxy adviser called “staggering” in size.
If everything goes according to plan, Jagdeep Singh of QuantumScape Corp., get possible stock options worth up to $2.3 billion, under the agreement.
Singh is a serial entrepreneur and businessperson who has founded 6 companies, which include: QuantumScape Corp., Infinera Corp., and QuantumScape Subsidiary, Inc. In addition to this, he has been at the helm of 6 different companies.
Presently, he is the Chairman & CEO at QuantumScape Corp and QuantumScape Subsidiary, Inc., which he founded in 2010. He is also on the board of Slam Corp., Khosla Ventures Acquisition Co., and Khosla Ventures Acquisition Co. IV, and Business Head-After Market at Bharat Gears Ltd.
The package passed in a preliminary vote during a webcast of QuantumScape’s annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday, December 15, and the company said a final tally would be available later.
“We strongly believe in setting challenging, hard-to-achieve goals, and then focusing efforts to make them happen,” defending the action, QuantumScape said in a letter to shareholders.
“This is why we based this new award on stretch goals and why we gave our key executives the ability to share the upside in a way that is commensurate with the difficulty of achieving them.
In a recent report, Glass Lewis, who had recommended stockholders to deny the package, said, “The disclosed dollar value cost of the grant is staggering.” Another consulting firm, Institutional Shareholder Services, was also against it.
Big pay packages are becoming a new-age fashion among fast-growing businesses, especially after Tesla poured in investment into the electric car sector.
According to Dayna Harris, a partner at executive compensation company Farient Advisors, Such pacts echo the compensation agreement that helped make Tesla CEO Elon Musk the world’s richest person.
Last year, at least 15 business executives won accolades worth $100 million or more, up from three when Musk earned his in 2018.
Jagdeep Singh received an undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland, a graduate degree from Stanford University and an MBA from Haas School of Business.
