Becoming CEO of Elior, Daniel Derichebourg reduces his remuneration to "contribute to the collective effort"

Having become CEO of the collective catering group Elior, Daniel Derichebourg will waive his fixed compensation of 900,000 euros gross for the 2022/2023 financial year and limit his variable compensation, a "personal contribution" to "the collective effort to recover margins,” he said on Wednesday.

On April 18, the recycling specialist Derichebourg took control of Elior, heavily indebted and in deficit since the health crisis, via a capital increase and the contribution of the activities of Derichebourg's "DMS" multi-services division to Elior, creating an "international leader in collective catering and multi-services" with 134,000 employees and a turnover of 5.23 billion euros.

Having become CEO of Elior on the same day, Daniel Derichebourg - who will remain Chairman of Derichebourg, but will leave his operational functions - announces, in his first public decision, that he has "decided to waive or limit elements of his compensation under of the 2022-2023 financial year”, indicates a press release from Elior. In detail, Daniel Derichebourg will “give up his fixed compensation of 900,000 euros gross” and cap his “short-term variable compensation at 500,000 euros gross in the event of achievement” of the performance criteria, and 750,000 euros gross “if these are exceeded”. This amounts to a reduction “of more than 70% compared to the theoretical amounts” that the CEO of Elior could have received, specifies the press release from the group.

As for the "long-term variable compensation", it will be capped at respectively "750,000 euros gross" in the first case (criteria met) and "one million euros gross" in the second (criteria exceeded). He also waives his remuneration for his term of office as a director, further specifies the press release. Daniel Derichebourg, quoted by the press release, affirms that he “considers it important to make this symbolic gesture” to “bring (his) personal contribution to the collective effort to recover (the) operating margins” of the group. The CEO of Elior also wishes to "demonstrate the alignment of (his) managerial decisions with (his) interests as a reference shareholder", he adds.

Elior, which conducts 56% of its business internationally and employs 97,000 people in five countries (France, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, United States), has suffered greatly from the health crisis which has plunged it into red and increased its debt to 1.2 billion euros. The group is present in the catering business, school and within health establishments.