The new person who will be heading Yahoo is set to take home double of what Marissa Mayer, soon to be ex-CEO of Yahoo, earns, says a report. In an announcement, Yahoo admitted that Mayer’s successor has been picked, and will take over once the much talked about deal with Verizon closes.

Marissa Mayer, reportedly exiting with a $23 million severance package, will be replaced by Thomas McInerney. However, he will get a starting base salary of $2 million, as compared to $1 million that Marissa Mayer takes home presently. Furthermore, Yahoo expects to pay the next CEO $4 million in his first year, which is more than $3 million – the salary and cash bonus that Mayer is set to earn this year. The incoming CEO will also be eligible for grants of long-term incentive rewards of up to $24 million, contingent on performance goals. 

The announcement has evoked a sharp reaction, as the compensation for the incoming CEO is considered extremely generous, considering that his job responsibility will not be nearly as difficult as it has been for Mayer. The development has also rekindled debates around gender pay gap. However, the report also states that in addition to fund management responsibilities, McInerney will be assigned with the task of “untangling Altaba out of a long and significant tail of Yahoo operating company liabilities, from class action lawsuits over the data breaches to ongoing dialogues with regulators."

Last year in July, Verizon and Yahoo made a deal of $4.8 billion, but the deal suffered a setback after a hacking scandal that emerged a few months later. The deal is set to be finalised by June this year, after a cut of $350 million.