How Aphria’s CEO compensation ranks among leading pot industry execs

Read more...

Oct 15, 2019

Share

Aphria Inc. interim chief executive officer Irwin Simon is one of the cannabis industry’s highest-compensated executives after less than a year of running the company.

Simon, who took over the Leamington, Ont.-based company as interim CEO in March after Vic Neufeld retired, saw his total compensation reach nearly $9.6 million this year, according to a management circular published on Tuesday. The pay package vaults Simon above most of his peers, aside from Tilray CEO Brendan Kennedy, who benefitted handsomely from stock-based compensation last year.

Here’s a tale of the tape on compensation handed out to some of the most powerful figures in the cannabis industry.

*Brendan Kennedy, Tilray CEO

Salary: $425,000

Bonus: $425,000

Option-based awards: $25.1 million

Stock-based awards: $5.8 million

Total compensation: $31.82 million

 Irwin Simon, Aphria CEO

Salary: $397,201

Bonus: $325,000

Share-based awards: $901,500 

Option-based awards: $7.9 million

Total compensation: $9.58 million

 Mark Zekulin, Canopy Growth CEO

Salary: $500,000

Bonus: $250,000

Option-based awards: $5.2 million

Total compensation: $5.96 million

Terry Booth, Aurora Cannabis CEO

Salary: $466,346

Bonus: $408,750

Share-based awards: $406,450

Option-based awards: $1.1 million

Total compensation: $2.41 million

*Mike Gorenstein, Cronos Group CEO

Salary: $266,932

Bonus: None

Option-based awards: $557,910

Total compensation: $824,842

*Denotes 2018 compensation data. All other figures for 2019.