Vodafone boss's pay packet hits £6.8m

NEWS During the last financial year Vodafone's chief executive saw his total pay package jump from £1.35m to £6.88m, an increase of 407 per cent. At last year's AGM shareholders voted in favour of a special one off bonus payment for Gent and other top executives including Ken Hydon, Peter Bamford and Julian Horn-Smith, who also saw their pay packages rise by a similar percentage. Gent received a one-off £5m bonus, Bamford got £1m and both Hydon and Horn-Smith both received £2m. Gent's salary also increased to £1.069 from £837,000. According to a source close to Vodafone the increase is linked to the company's growth over the last 12 months and the successful takeover of the German group Mannesmann. Meanwhile critics have questioned whether the bonus are linked to performances as Vodafone's shares have dropped significantly during the year and now hover around 150p.