Former CEO Scott Solombrino was cleared of wrongdoing, but left in 2020 by mutual agreement

It's quite the payday for an early exit: Former Global Business Travel Association CEO Scott Solombrino received a $5 million severance package, according to the latest tax disclosure.

Solombrino agreed to leave in July 2020 after being cleared of misconduct charges brought by a group describing themselves as current and former employees.

"This is one of the largest severance payouts I've seen, and it looks to be close to five times his annual base and expected bonus," said CEO Update Managing Director Mark Graham, a compensation expert. "It's big."

An attorney specializing in association employment contracts agreed the package was unusually large. It likely was so in order to get Solombrino to sign a release agreeing not to sue GBTA for wrongful termination, the attorney said, speaking on background. It may have also included some deferred retirement funds and a continuation of Solombrino's salary for the duration of his contract, the attorney said.

The allegations of "racist, divisive and derogatory" behaviors in the workplace were made in a June 2020 letter, causing GBTA to hire a law firm to investigate. The probe reported no wrongdoing, but Solombrino departed by mutual agreement with the board, the organization said. Solombrino, a former limousine company executive and former GBTA board member, had held the group's top job for about 16 months when he left.

The public disclosure—the IRS Form 990 for 2020—leaves some questions unanswered.

Solombrino received $5 million in 2020 "pursuant to a separation agreement" with GBTA. The disclosure suggests that he didn't get it all at once. Detailed notes included in the annual tax filing refer to future "semi-monthly payments through 2024" totaling $2 million. Other salary related entries in the tax document leave some ambiguity about amounts paid to the former CEO in 2020. 

The 990 also shows that Solombrino was the only executive to receive a bonus that pandemic-stricken year, during which a third of staff were laid off, Business Travel News reported. The bonus was $130,000.

News site The Company Dime first reported the severance package, followed by Business Travel News' own account.

The 990 was posted on GBTA's website, along with a statement from the group acknowledging controversy but emphasizing GBTA's commitment to restructuring and boosting its value to the industry. 

"As members of the board said at the time in public statements and conversations with industry leaders, members and staff, the board was then—and remains today—fully committed to improving every aspect of GBTA, including the association's culture, its governance and operations, and the ways in which GBTA serves the business travel industry and its membership," the statement says.

The statement details the changes already made to the organization's structure, including bylaws changes and increased board diversity. It also reassures members and sponsors that GBTA's financial situation is strong despite the ongoing pandemic, the large payouts and plunging revenue, which fell from $25 million in 2019 to $7.9 million in 2020.