The Spar Group has set the basic salary of new chief executive officer Brett Botten at R7.5 million compared to the R8.6m received by predecessor Graham O’Connor, who retired in March this year, according to the group’s integrated 2021 annual report published yesterday. Supplied
The Spar Group has set the basic salary of new chief executive officer Brett Botten at R7.5 million compared to the R8.6m received by predecessor Graham O’Connor, who retired in March this year, according to the group’s integrated 2021 annual report published yesterday.
O’Connor moved on to become the board’s non-executive chair, following the retirement of Mike Hankinson, who has chaired Spar South Africa since 2004.
The group said in determining Botten’s salary package, the remuneration committee considered O’Connor’s salary, the market trends and Botten’s experience.
Before taking the reins as chief executive in March 2021, Botten had been managing director of Spar South Rand division since 2010. He joined the company in 1994.
Botten, who is a member of the Spar Guild of Southern Africa, also previously served as MD of the Spar North Rand, Spar Lowveld and Spar Eastern Cape divisions. According to the annual report, Botten contributes financial, auditing, entrepreneurial and retail skills to the board.
Chief financial officer (CFO) Mark Godfrey also received the mandated salary increase of 5 percent, and was awarded an additional increase of 7.8 percent in basic salary in December 2020. The group said Godfrey’s leadership and overall contribution to the wider business warranted a further salary adjustment in the current year, above the mandate.
“The CFO’s revised basic salary is considered appropriate for his performance against the substantially increased role and responsibilities,” said the annual report.
According to the remuneration committee it was appropriate to further recognise the CFO’s increased responsibilities resulting from the group’s expansion and the complexities inherent in the geographically expanded business.
These included both the additional reporting, control and governance matters, and his responsibility for overall management of funding arrangements and banking relationships.
“The remuneration committee also recognised his success in arranging the various funding facilities for the Polish business to provide for unbudgeted demands, while successfully co-ordinating these against the group’s existing European and local banking requirements,” said the annual report.
The group was referring to its move into Poland last year in search of new revenue streams.
In terms of non-executive directors, the group has proposed that increases to be implemented from March 2022 to February 28, 2023 include a 5 percent increase for the Spar chairperson from R1.68m to R1.76m, and a 19.7 percent increase for the chair of the audit committee from R274 000 to R328 000.
In addition to the proposed fees, the board has proposed a R300 000 a year fee payable to non-executive directors for their membership of the IT steering committee for the 12-month period from March 1, 2022 to February 28, 2023.
The board is proposing a daily fee of R29 400 payable to non-executive directors for their attendance at ad hoc meetings of the board and board committees for the 12-month period from March 1, 2022 to February 28, 2023.
The board said it recognised the need to have non-executive member representation with specialised IT skills on the IT steering committee, for the duration of the SAP programme implementation, given the risks relating to this project.
BUSINESS REPORT
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