Thomas Cook hands top executives 8m shares Harriet Green, who took the helm of Thomas Cook in July, received 6.2m shares, which at today's prices are worth more than £1m. Just under half, or 45pc, of the awards will be subject to share price targets, while the remainder will depend on financial performance goals being met by the new management team. Those targets have not yet been set. The company said they will be determined following the announcement of a turnaround plan, which Ms Green, the former boss of electronics group Premier Farnell, has pledged to set out in the spring. Thomas Cook, which had to seek an emergency bail-out from its lenders last year, said it had consulted major shareholders and governance bodies before announcing the awards, which could be viewed as a "golden hello." A spokesman for Thomas Cook defended the decision, saying: "The board considers it important the new management team is incentivised in the right way and from the start." He added that the company believed in "pay for performance."