LUCKY FOR SOME

SeaWorld Execs Get $6.8M in Stock Awards as Staff Are Furloughed

The company said the awards were to “recognize employees for their extraordinary contributions” amid the coronavirus pandemic.

SeaWorld Entertainment, which furloughed 90 percent of its theme park employees, will give its top executives about $6.8 million in restricted stock awards for their “extraordinary contributions” amid the coronavirus pandemic. The move is to “recognize employees for their extraordinary contributions and continued expected contributions to the Company and its long term goals during the global COVID-19 pandemic,” the company said. CEO Marc Swason, who only started his role last week following the resignation of Sergio Rivera, will get $1.5 million in restricted stock awards, while Chief Operating Officer Walter Bogumil will be awarded $1.3 million, as long as they stay with the company for two years, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Chief Legal Officer Tony Taylor will get more than $1.1 million in restricted stock awards and three other executives will get more than $900,000 each.