Sky high: El Al’s CEO rakes in $9M in just three years on the job
CEO Dina Ben Tal Ganancia benefits from share price surge and generous options.
Dina Ben Tal Ganancia, CEO of El Al, who will retire by the end of this year will not be leaving empty-handed. Ben Tal Ganancia still holds a package of stock options she received when she took office, which she has not yet exercised and which currently represent a profit of approximately 5 million shekels (approximately $1.5M).
Most of the remaining options were only unlocked at the beginning of this month. This is the third and final tranche of 1.45 million options granted to her at the end of 2022, with the first tranche becoming available in July 2023.
The options were allocated to Ben Tal Ganancia at an exercise price of NIS 3.89 per share, without any linkage to inflation or currency.
In December last year, she exercised a small portion of her options for a profit of 370,000 shekels, and in March this year, she exercised a larger portion for a profit of about 8 million shekels ($2.4M). The options were granted under the capital gains track, which means she will pay tax at a favorable rate of only 25% on the profits.
The options she still holds represent a profit of roughly 5 million shekels at the current share price. Altogether, her total profit from the options is expected to reach approximately NIS 13.4 million ($4 million).
Ben Tal Ganancia also received a monthly salary of 120,000 shekels ($36,000) plus ongoing bonuses, totaling around 12 million shekels ($3.6 million) from the start of her tenure through the end of 2024. Excluding the value of the options, her total compensation package would reach about 15 million shekels ($4.5 million).
Assuming her salary costs remain unchanged through her final months, her total pay and bonuses will likely amount to around 18 million shekels by year’s end (excluding the value of the options). Including the gains from the options, Ben Tal Ganancia’s total compensation package will surpass NIS 30 million ($9M).
As noted, Ben Tal Ganancia received the options shortly after becoming El Al’s CEO. At the time, the exercise price was about 5% below the previous day’s closing price. Since then, El Al’s share price has soared and the company’s market value has tripled, driven largely by record profits during periods when foreign airlines intermittently suspended flights to Israel since the outbreak of the war. El Al not only expanded its market share but also raised ticket prices, boosting its profits accordingly.
In January this year, institutional investors blocked the company’s plan to raise Ben Tal Ganancia’s salary by 25% to 150,000 shekels per month, as well as an additional grant of stock options she was supposed to receive.
