Sirius XM Board Adds Discovery’s David Zaslav And John Malone’s Son, And Pays Mel Karmazin $11M

David Lieberman
·1 min read
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Liberty Media Chairman John Malone‘s company controls Sirius XM, but he and Liberty General Counsel Charles Tanabe no longer want to sit on the satellite radio provider’s board, according to the company’s proxy filed at the SEC this afternoon. No problem: The replacements likely won’t lead a palace revolt. Discovery CEO David Zaslav pretty much owes his job to Malone, who controls about 29% of Discovery’s voting shares, and sits on its board. And Malone’s 42-year-old son, Evan, sits on Liberty’s board and lately has worked in engineering and real estate in Philadelphia where he also runs a wine bar. Aside from that news, the proxy offers the usual info about executive compensation — including the 2012 package for former CEO Mel Karmazin, who left in December. It includes $1.5M salary, and a $9.5M bonus. The total is 5.3 times more than the median for the other top execs, which would trigger alarm bells about Karmazin’s clout if he were still there. Shareholders at the May 21 annual meeting in New York will vote on an investor-submitted resolution that would require Sirius XM to regularly disclose a detailed succession plan. The board opposes the proposal, calling it “unnecessary.”

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