The Walt Disney Co. has extended the employment agreement of top lawyer, Horacio Gutierrez, who joined two years ago from Spotify Technology SA. Under the new terms, Gutierrez will work through to the end of 2026, and will receive an annual base salary of $1.5 million starting from January 1, according to a recent securities filing by Disney. His previous employment contract was set to expire at the end of next year.
In addition to his role extension, Gutierrez has been promoted to chief legal officer, elevated from the position of general counsel, but he will continue to serve as Disney’s chief compliance officer, a position he assumed earlier this year after the company parted ways with Alicia Schwarz as part of mass layoffs.
Gutierrez was recruited from Spotify in December 2021, where he served as general counsel and was instrumental in the music streaming company’s battles against many of the same tech companies that are now Disney’s competitors. Prior to Spotify, Gutierrez was general counsel for Microsoft Corp.
In fiscal 2022, Gutierrez received nearly $15.2 million in total compensation from Disney after being chosen to succeed the company’s retired legal chief, Alan Braverman. According to Bloomberg data, Gutierrez now owns more than $856,000 in Disney stock.
Under the amended employment contract, Gutierrez’ll receive a 600% increase of his new base salary as his long-term equity incentive annual award, a sum that cannot be less than $1.5 million each year. Any future compensation increases will come at the discretion of Disney.
There have been several changes in Disney’s in-house legal team in the last year. Peter Wiley, the company’s longstanding London-based chief international counsel, announced his retirement in October and was succeeded by former deputy chief counsel, Nicola “Nikki” Keat. In other developments, the company recruited a new chief counsel for its theme park business, A. Louise Pentland, who had recently retired as chief legal and business affairs officer at PayPal Holdings Inc.
In the meanwhile, Disney is engaged in a high-profile dispute with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over the company’s self-governance privileges in the state, with legal representation from O’Melveny & Myers and Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.
You can read more details on this story on Bloomberg Law.