Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts received $36.4 million in total compensation in 2019, a nearly 4% increase over the prior year, according to its annual proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Roberts’ annual base salary rose slightly to $3.3 million from $3.2 million in the prior year, and his stock and option awards remained steady at about $5.3 million each.
Roberts, along with other Comcast executives, has pledged his 2020 salary to various charitable organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the proxy statement, chief financial officer Michael Cavanagh received the biggest increase among top executives at the company, with total compensation of $26.8 million, up 23% from the $21.7 million he received in 2018. That gain was mainly fueled by a 71% rise in stock awards to $6.7 million from $3.9 million in the prior year.
NBCUniversal chairman Steve Burke, who stepped down as CEO in January and said he would retire in August, received $42.6 million in total compensation in 2019, up 7% from the $39.9 he received in the prior year.
Comcast Cable CEO Dave Watson’s total compensation rose 14% to $16.9 million from $14.8 in the prior year, while senior executive vice president Dave Cohen got a 5% raise, with total compensation of $20 million in 2019, compared to $19.1 million in the prior year.
