A lucrative consolation prize: Inside the multimillion-dollar retention deals for CEO runners‑up

Fortune

by Claire Zillman

February 25, 2026

AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary

Recent CEO succession races have seen companies offering multimillion-dollar retention deals to executives who didn’t land the top job. For example, Disney awarded Dana Walden, a reported runner-up for CEO, a $5.26 million stock grant and an annual target compensation of about $27 million. Similarly, Morgan Stanley paid its two rumored runners-up, Andy Saperstein and Dan Simkowitz, special bonuses valued at $20 million each when it appointed Ted Pick as CEO in 2023. These hefty packages highlight a growing trend where companies compensate executives who narrowly missed the highest leadership role. The rationale behind these deals is rooted in the high cost of losing top talent. Executive turnover can disrupt operations, harm morale, and hit the bottom line—often at a cost many times an executive’s annual salary. Retention grants aim to keep valuable leaders in place, particularly those with deep institutional knowledge and strong relationships inside and outside the company. However, these incentives have limitations. A report from consultancy FW Cook found that such grants typically retain executives for about two to three years, aligning with their vesting schedules. Once they fully vest, there’s little left to keep them at the company. The size of the awards also matters. Smaller grants ($1.6 million to $5 million) tend to yield longer tenures—around four years post-succession. Larger packages, however, often fail to prevent executives from leaving sooner, especially if they feel disgruntled or are poached

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Originally published on Fortune on 2/25/2026