Virgin Media's Berkett paid £3.6m in 2009
 

Virgin Media chief executive Neil Berkett took home a total remuneration package of $5.7 million (£3.6m) last year, despite the company imposing a pay freeze to cut costs.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/digitalt...m-in-2009.html

Re: Virgin Media's Berkett paid £3.6m in 2009
 

I see no issue, he has helped turn the corner for the company this year. They have refinanced themselves, and made a profit. Now of course it is a rather large sum of money. I would have a big issue if he was taking a big bonus if they had not been successful.

Re: Virgin Media's Berkett paid £3.6m in 2009
 

Agreed

He gets my support. However i await the hecklers to descend on the thread with interest

Re: Virgin Media's Berkett paid £3.6m in 2009
 

The important part in the OP link was, imho So if he hadn't delivered, he would not have been rewarded - sounds fair to me.

Re: Virgin Media's Berkett paid £3.6m in 2009
 

Neil is doing a good job... He does deserve his pay. VM is in good shape and getting better all the time :tu:

Re: Virgin Media's Berkett paid £3.6m in 2009
 

If you want people like Berkett working for you, you have to pay them this level of wages.
The guy has saved the company countless times more than what he's being paid.

Re: Virgin Media's Berkett paid £3.6m in 2009
 

Agreed he has done some amazing things with the company in the last few years and continues to show signs that he has no intention of stopping. He does not have the limitless resources of Sky but has managed to reduce and refinance debt and make a nice bit of operating cash. In that link it also says that he took a pay cut and as posted above is that the lion share of that came from reaching targets that had been set.

Re: Virgin Media's Berkett paid £3.6m in 2009
 

Have to agree with the general sentiment so far, looking at their share price alone since he took over, he appears to have done some great things for Virgin Media.

I think back to the Sky One fiasco, the man held his nerve and got a fair price for that channel. Going up against Sky shows a lot of character, so I say well done that man.

Re: Virgin Media's Berkett paid £3.6m in 2009
 

Market rate. If he were not getting that kind of money from Virgin Media he'd be getting it elsewhere. Really good management is expensive.

Re: Virgin Media's Berkett paid £3.6m in 2009
 

It is good to see that we are all in agreement and that good management has to be well paid.;)

Re: Virgin Media's Berkett paid £3.6m in 2009
 

I am happy to see that as well.....;)

Re: Virgin Media's Berkett paid £3.6m in 2009
 

Yes in this meritocratic society we live in...

Re: Virgin Media's Berkett paid £3.6m in 2009
 

Just like the bankers, there is something completely obscene about this.

Why should someone be "rewarded" for doing a job? Fine, they get a decent salary, but that should be it, no share options/bonuses.

Then of course we have the small matter that VM is still in several billion pounds of debt.

Another poster has said here that VM are in good shape, really? I don't see a company which has never made a profit, has huge debts and non existent growth depending on how many customers VM say they have on any one particular day. One minute its one number, and another minute its a totally different figure. 50k customers all of a sudden aren't real paying customers, or, there's another data cleanse and another 50k customers disappear or reappear, or whatever it is. Total shambles and certainly no one should be paid 3.6 million for that.

Re: Virgin Media's Berkett paid £3.6m in 2009
 

His salary is something like £500k... he got a PERFORMANCE related bonus based on how well he did his job.

Sky's CEO gets £800k before bonuses... Neil is working hard for his.

VM is in good shape, sure they have their problems and they are far from perfect... lots of companies don't make a profit and are in debt, VM are investing in their network to GROW the business beyond their current footprint.

Re: Virgin Media's Berkett paid £3.6m in 2009
 

I cannot see any problem with anyone getting a performance related bonus. If you don't deliver what you are contracted to do then you don't get it.

Many years ago when I worked in manufacturing I was a Machine operator on a basic pay of £39.00 per week plus performance related bonuses, my take - home pay per week was £98.00, a lot of money then.

Equate that from the late 70's to now. I would be on quite a few thou a week!