Aetna: 2017 Compensation For CEO Bertolini Neared $59 Million

April 07--Mark Bertolini, chief executive officer of Aetna Inc., received compensation in 2017 of nearly $59 million, much of it in stocks and options he exercised during the year, the health insurer said Friday in a regulatory filing.

The compensation, reported as part of the Hartford insurer's annual proxy statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, covers the last full year for Aetna. Barring rejection by regulators, Aetna is due to be purchased later this year by CVS Health Corp. in a $69 billion deal.

Bertolini, 61, was paid $1.2 million in salary, up slightly from 2016, and received a cash bonus of nearly $2.1 million, which was up from about $1.7 million the previous year.

He also received nearly $500,000, primarily for personal use of the company plane and contributions to his retirement plan.

The bulk of his compensation was $40.6 million in option awards exercised and $14.3 million in Aetna shares that vested. Total compensation was $58.7 million.

The Courant calculates compensation as the sum of salary, bonuses, value gained on the exercise of stock options and vesting of stock awards and value of perquisites, such as a retirement plan and personal use of the company's plane.

Aetna touted its achievements for the year, including a 45 percent increase in its share price rose, with three-year cumulative total shareholder return up 109 percent.

The company's compensation committee praised Bertolini as a "recognized thought leader who serves as a positive and constructive influence on not only the transformation of the health care system, but also on important social policy issues affecting the company and our nation."

Bertolini has spoken frequently about the value of nontraditional health measures such as yoga and meditation. Robert Forsythe, dean of the Mike Ilitch School of Business at Wayne State University where Bertolini studied, once referred to him as a "New Age CEO."

Aetna will remain as a separate unit of CVS, but Bertolini will step away from management operations and join the newly combined company's board.

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