Big company GC compensation trend: giant stock grants ($50-70M)!

The most recent big company GC compensation trend is giant stock grants, in the $50M to $70M range! Apple recruited Jennifer Newstead from Meta with a $77M grant, and Meta landed CJ Mahoney from Microsoft with a $50M grant.

Why are companies offering such big grants?

• The GC role has expanded to include strategy, counsel, simultaneous growth and risk mitigation, plus knowledge of global regs.
• Strong candidates often have massive unvested equity given the strong stock market.
• Companies want to keep base and bonus in the range of current execs, and equity may be the easiest component to move.