Novartis scraps £50m pay for outgoing chairman "We continue to believe in the value of a non-compete, however, we believe the decision to cancel the agreement and all related compensation addresses the concerns of shareholders and other stakeholders," Novartis vice chairman Ulrich Lehner said in a statement on Tuesday. Vasella, long a lightning rod for criticism of executive pay in Switzerland, said in the statement he understood that Swiss people found the compensation too high. Vasella earned 13.1m francs for 2012, down slightly from 13.5m francs the prior year. Vasella's golden parachute attracted a raft of criticism from top-ranking Swiss politicians and members of the country's pro-business lobby, against the backdrop of a March 3 referendum to give shareholders a veto over excessive manager pay. Polls published on Sunday showed almost two thirds of Swiss voters favored the initiative.