Boeing Increases CEO's Pay 27% to $23.4 Million for Last Year

(Bloomberg) -- Boeing Co.’s CEO received $23.4 million last year for turbocharging growth and driving record performance -- before the second deadly crash of its best-selling 737 Max jetliner plunged the company into crisis.

Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg’s 2018 pay includes a $1.7 million salary and $13 million bonus, the Chicago-based company said Friday in a regulatory filing. His total compensation rose 27 percent from a year earlier.

The pay package is a reminder of Boeing’s bright prospects before the recent catastrophe. Last year, the world’s largest planemaker topped $100 billion in sales for the first time while boosting output and exploring the development of a highly anticipated new twin-aisle model.

That outlook shifted dramatically this week after the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines jet that killed 157 people -- the second tragedy involving the Max model in five months. The planes were grounded worldwide amid safety questions, and deliveries were halted by Boeing, which has about 5,000 orders for the jet.

Shares of Boeing tumbled 10 percent this week, wiping out $24.6 billion of market value.

Muilenburg’s increase largely came from a $13.1 million payout from two bonus plans. One was pegged to targets for free cash flow, per-share earnings and revenue that were all exceeded. The second was linked to a three-year economic profit goal, which was also surpassed.

--With assistance from Jenn Zhao.

To contact the reporters on this story: Richard Clough in New York at rclough9@bloomberg.net;Anders Melin in New York at amelin3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Case at bcase4@bloomberg.net, ;Pierre Paulden at ppaulden@bloomberg.net, Susan Warren, Peter Eichenbaum

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