Avast board approves new CEO's plan to waive his salary

Avast announced on Tuesday that its chief executive officer Ondrej Vlcek has notified the board of his intention to indefinitely waive his annual salary and bonus, and instead receive a nominal annual salary of $1.

The FTSE 250 security software developer said Vicek would continue to receive annual equity grants as part of the firm’s long term incentive plan, calculated as a multiple of his waived base salary.

It said he had also notified the board of his intention to donate 100% of his director's fee, totalling $0.1m per annum, to charity.

The initial recipient would be a UK-based charity, Demelza Hospice for Children, with all arrangements to be effective from the date of Vlcek's appointment to the role of CEO on 1 July.

“The board has reviewed and accepted Mr Vlcek's proposal to waive his annual salary and annual bonus, and is satisfied that he continues to be appropriately incentivised through existing long term equity-based incentive arrangements and through his 2% shareholding in Avast,” said Ulf Claesson, chair of the Avast board’s remuneration committee.

“We respect and commend his decision, which is a testament to his belief in Avast's long-term value creation potential.”