Alliance Data Systems Corp. will pay up to $3.7 million to former CEO Melisa Miller under terms of a separation agreement.
Miller stepped down in November but remains an employee in an advisory role through Feb. 16, when she's to be replaced by incoming CEO Ralph Andretta. He had been managing director of the U.S. credit cards business at Citigroup.
The severance package calls for Miller to earn two times her base salary, or $1.65 million, paid in regular pay periods through November 2021, according to the agreement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. There are also cash payments of $500,000 before March 20 and $1.55 million in August – providing she meets terms of the deal, including prepping for her successor.
Miller had been promoted to CEO just five months before her abrupt resignation. The board had planned to hire Andretta as COO to be her eventual successor, but decided to make the switch instantly.
At the time of her promotion, the company's headquarters moved to its new offices in Easton from Plano, Texas. Miller had led Alliance Data's card services division for eight years.
Alliance Data (NYSE: ADS) has cut about 1,500 Central Ohio jobs over the past year, but is still one of the region's largest employers
The company's branded credit card business, based in Columbus, includes more than 51 million cardholders across more than 150 brands, including Victoria’s Secret, Bed Bath & Beyond and Toyota/Lexus. The Texas office is home to the division operating loyalty programs such as airline miles.
Miller also pledged in her separation not divulge confidential information, sue or make disparaging comments about the company. Her one-year non-compete agreement expires in November.
Last month, directors approved a $2 million bonus for Charles Horn, who has been acting CEO since November.
Horn, who had been executive vice president and CFO, announced plans to retire in 2018, so he did not receive equity compensation in 2019, according to a regulatory filing. But he stayed on as executive vice president and vice chairman starting in June to oversee board initiatives and started leading the business's loyalty program division in August before taking his current role.