PENN Entertainment CEO sees 2023 remuneration package hit $15.5m
Jay Snowden’s total compensation jumps by $1.5m in the year Barstool Sportsbook was shelved and replaced by ESPN Bet
PENN Entertainment’s senior leadership team saw their collective base salaries increase 5.7% year on year (YOY) in 2023, according to the land-based and online operator’s latest SEC filing.
CEO and president Jay Snowden was the only member of the executive team whose base salary remained the same as 2022 – $1.8m – although his total package rose 10.4% from $14m in 2022 to $15.5m last year.
This included $3.4m in stock awards, option awards of $5.6m, non-equity incentive plan compensation of $4.4m, and “all other compensation” totaling $423,826.
The operator’s CFO and EVP, Felicia Hendrix, enjoyed the largest base salary increase in 2023, up 19% YOY from $715,000 to $850,000. Hendrix’s overall compensation rose 42.5% YOY, as she received just over $4m.
Meanwhile, EVP of operations Todd George’s base salary climbed 6% YOY to $948,000, while his overall compensation was up 19.1% to almost $4.5m when all other remuneration packages were taken into consideration, including $1.7m in option awards.
Lastly, the base salary of Chris Rogers, EVP, chief strategy officer and secretary, rose 7% to $723,079 from $671,202, while his total pay award was $2.9m, up 6% on 2022.
None of the executive team received bonuses last year, as was also the situation in 2022, the filing showed.
The release of these pay awards come two months after PENN revealed the company’s online arm, PENN Interactive, recorded an adjusted EBITDAR loss of $334m for Q4 2023.
This was largely due to an aggressive market launch of ESPN Bet on November 14, which led to soaring costs for the Nasdaq-listed gaming operator.
Looking at full-year 2023, PENN Interactive posted an adjusted EBITDAR loss of $402.5m, compared to a negative $74.9m in 2022.
Despite these negatives, the operator stated that average monthly users leapt 207% in Q4 2023 to 771,000.
As well as detailing the remuneration packages of its executive team, PENN has also announced a number of changes to its board.
The changes were triggered after John Jacquemin notified the board on April 17 that he was not standing for re-election to the board following the end of his current term at the firm’s 2024 annual general meeting, due to be held on June 4.
Jacquemin has been appointed as director emeritus until the expiration of his term as director, which is until January 3, 2025.
Following Jacquemin’s decision, the board reclassified Vimla Black-Gupta from Class III to Class I, effective immediately, and put her up for re-election at the annual general meeting.
In addition to her move up the board structure, Black-Gupta will serve on the nominating and corporate governance committee while vacating her role on the compliance committee, with Anuj Dhanda replacing her on the committee; these moves take effect as of the annual general meeting.
The number of members on the operator’s board will also be reduced from 10 to nine at the meeting.