Berry Global Group Inc.'s new contract with its upcoming CEO will pay him just over $1 million per year in cash but includes millions more in stock compensation.
The Evansville, Ind.-based plastics processor reported details of Kevin Kwilinski's five-year contract through a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The contract will pay Kwilinski $1.05 million in annual base salary, an amount that is subject to annual review. He is scheduled to start work as CEO on Oct. 2.
Kwilinski also will be eligible for what the company calls "an annual performance-based short-term incentive award determined based on a target of 125 percent of his then-current annual base salary" based on performance objectives set by the company's board.
Along with the direct cash payments, the new CEO is in line for stock benefits worth millions of dollars.
"[He] will receive an initial equity award grant in the form of restricted stock, with a grant date value of $9 million and vesting at a rate of one-third each year over a three-year period. ... Kwilinski is also entitled to receive a long-term incentive award at the time of the company's next regular annual grants, with a grant date value of $7.2 million," the company said in the SEC filing.
Kwilinski's base salary is similar to what current CEO Tom Salmon receives, according to a memorandum of understanding signed between him and the company.
Salmon has agreed to stay with the company through the end of the year before he retires. The MOU indicates Salmon's annual base salary will remain $1.2 million after he steps down as CEO and before he retires at year's end.
Salmon also remains eligible for his target annual bonus for fiscal year 2023 equal to 125 percent of his annual base salary. That bonus is payable in mid-December.
Kwilinski, 54, previously served as CEO of Multi-Color Corp. from October 2021 until his hiring at Berry earlier in August. Before that, he was CEO of Fort Dearborn Corp., which merged with Multi-Color in October 2021.
His work history also includes a stint as CEO of plastics closure and container maker Portola Packaging from 2009 to 2013, and CEO of Paperworks Industries, a recycled paperboard and folding cartons company, from 2014 to 2017. Kwilinski has a bachelor's degree in physics and mathematics from Greenville College and a master's degree in industrial operations engineering from the University of Michigan.
Silgan Holdings Inc. purchased Portola Packaging in a $266 million deal in 2013 that included eight plants in both North America and Europe and $200 million in annual sales at the time.
Kwilinski also becomes a board member when Salmon retires.