Departing Caesars Entertainment CEO Mark Frissora has agreed to remain at the helm of the Las Vegas-based resort giant at least until the spring.
Frissora, whose leadership has encountered opposition from some activist investors, had announced his departure for February 8. But Caesars said he will now stay until at least April 30, and possibly up to a month more than that, in the interests of “continuity of leadership as the company searches for a successor” using a “third-party search firm”.
In exchange, Frissora will receive an equity grant for the 2019 compensation year with a target value of $7 million calculated on a pro rata basis.
Frissora was named president and CEO of Caesars in July 2015, six months after the company placed its largest operating subsidiary into Chapter 11 reorganization with some $18 billion of debt. The former chairman and CEO of Hertz is credited with shepherding Caesars through the protracted and often contentious restructuring, which took more than two years to conclude, and bringing stability and a measured growth plan to the company centered around the creation of VICI Properties, one of the gaming industry’s three real estate investment trusts.
According to an April 2018 company filing, he earned $2 million in base salary in 2017 with performance-related increases that raised his non-equity compensation to $4.49 million. Last year, the company approved an increase in that bonus target to 200 percent of his base pay.
