Real Costs of CEO Firings | Farient Briefings
August 27, 2025
Bloomberg and Farient Explore the Real Costs of CEO Firings
Farient Advisors’ expertise and data analysis is featured throughout Bloomberg’s story and podcast on the rising costs of CEO ousters. From multimillion-dollar severance packages and make-whole stock awards to retention bonuses and seven-figure adviser fees, the story shows how quickly expenses can mount when boards replace a chief executive.
Led by Chief Data Officer Eric Hoffmann with a big assist from Data Analyst Colin Weaver, Farient’s research put hard numbers to that reality, finding that forced-out CEOs at major U.S. companies walked away with a median $6.2 million last year, while incoming leaders secured sign-on packages averaging $9 million.
Quoted by Bloomberg, Farient CEO Robin A. Ferracone added that some departing executives even leave with perks such as career coaching or advisory contracts — underscoring how boards often spend far more than investors realize when replacing top leadership.
Annual Farient Summit: A Focus on Clients, Collaboration, and Continuous Learning
Farient’s all-staff Summit is an annual investment to focus on strategic insights for clients. Over 50 team members from New York, London, Los Angeles, and Louisville gathered in Washington, DC, for workshops that fostered strategic thinking, intellectual curiosity, and collaboration for newcomers and seasoned staffers alike.
Breakout sessions focused on role clarity, leadership progression, and global teamwork. Each evening, smaller groups of six to eight colleagues enjoyed a “dine around” experience initiated during last year’s Summit in Boston. The objective is to create teams to explore the diverse restaurant scene and report back on their dining experience. Farient’s Summit concluded with tours of the Capitol Building and DC’s renowned museums and memorials.
The Farient Summit, now in its 12th year, has become foundational to the firm’s personal and professional enrichment, promoting collegiality across disciplines, and sharpening client solutions.
In the News
A Family Feud Leaves the Future of This Kefir King in Doubt—Barron’s
American kefir maker Lifeway Foods has been embroiled for years in a family feud. It now faces a September deadline on a takeover offer by the American unit of French dairy company Danone, which owns 23% of Lifeway’s shares. Danone has signaled raising an activist campaign to replace the board if no deal is reached. Barron’s details the “dueling narratives” between family factions, including a disagreement over a $2 million retention bonus paid to Lifeway CEO Julie Smolyansky last year. Farient Advisors Partner R.J. Bannister told Barron’s that retention bonuses are not standard practice and that boards typically use them to address a particular issue, such as an impending retirement with no succession plan in place. This is a corporate governance story that bears watching.
CEO Pay at Top US Companies Accelerates at Fastest Pace in Four Years—Financial Times
Citing data from Farient Advisors, the Financial Times reports on a big surge in CEO pay among S&P 500 companies.
Under Pressure, US Companies Back Off DEI Pay Metrics—Reuters
The number of S&P 500 companies tying executive compensation to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) metrics is down from 52% in 2024 to just 22% this year, according to data provided by Farient Advisors to Reuters. The shift comes amid growing pressure from activists and a political environment increasingly hostile to DEI initiatives. Farient Sustainability Practice Leader Brian Bueno told Reuters that the reversal reflects growing concerns about legal and regulatory risks. “We know of cases where they decided the [pay] measure created too much legal risk and stopped using it,” Bueno noted.
Starbucks Dangles $6 Million Stock Grants to Executives to Speed Up Turnaround—Bloomberg
Bloomberg reports that Starbucks is offering performance-based stock grants each worth $6 million to executives as part of its “Back to Starbucks” turnaround plan, spearheaded by CEO Brian Niccol. The awards are contingent on aggressive cost-cutting measures and in-store experience improvements amid union criticism and questions about executive pay strategy. Farient Advisors provides an analysis.
Where to Find Us
Council of Institutional Investors
Fall Conference
The Westin St. Francis on Union Square
San Francisco
September 9, 2025
Farient Partner Marc Hodak joins Ola Peter Gjessing, a lead investment steward at Norges Bank Investment Management, and Kellie Huennekens, executive director of investment stewardship, at JP Morgan Chase & Co., for a discussion on What Pays Off When Companies Pay in Performance Share Units?
NACD Leading Minds of Governance & Technology
The Westin at Boston’s Seaport
Boston
September 17, 2025
8 a.m.-3 p.m.
Farient Partner and COO R.J. Bannister joins a panel to share his expertise on aligning compensation with organizational goals. Panelists include EY’s Robin Bew, DLA Piper Partner Elyssa Kutner, Director Ellen Richstone, and RSM National Tax Leader Matt Talcoff.
Directors & Boards
The Intersection of Compensation and Talent (Virtual)
September 25, 2025
The cutting-edge pay practices likely to impact decision-making in the next three to five years are on the agenda for this exclusive D&B webinar. Farient Founder and CEO Robin A. Ferracone will explore vital concepts being pioneered by her firm: How much pay is too much? What are examples of the “collision course?” How should boards assess “talent vulnerability?”
National Harbor, Maryland
October 12-15, 2025
Join Farient principals and colleagues at the annual meeting for directors and those allied to the advancement of good corporate governance.
Understanding Climate Incentives
Exclusive: Around the globe, the heat is on to combat climate change while some political regimes denounce the veracity between greenhouse gas emissions and a warming planet. Nevertheless, large corporations are reporting Scope 1, Scope 2, and, increasingly, Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions and linking reductions to executive compensation, according to Farient Advisors’ newly published 2025 Global Trends in Stakeholder Incentives: Climate Strategies and Incentives for Corporate Sustainability.
Learn more about how the world’s largest companies are setting and achieving climate goals by linking climate measures to executive incentives by sector and geography.
About Farient Advisors
Farient Advisors LLC is an independent premier executive compensation, performance, and corporate governance consultancy. Farient provides a full array of services, linking business strategy to compensation through a tailored, analytically rigorous, and collaborative approach. Farient has locations in Los Angeles, New York, and London and works with clients globally through its partnership in the Global Governance and Executive Compensation (GECN) Group. Farient is a certified diverse company and is recognized by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council.
© 2025 Farient Advisors LLC. | Privacy Policy | Site by: Treacle Media