It found that the $530 million in total she has collected from the sale of Tesla stock since becoming chair in 2018 dwarfs the next closest non-executive chair, UnitedHealth Group’s Stephen Hemsley, who earned over $100 million over a similar period.
Tesla did not respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
Non-executive board chairs like Denholm and Hemsley focus primarily on governance issues, providing broad oversight and ensuring the C-suite tasked with running the day-to-day operations act in the best interests of all shareholders.
Yet if there is one major criticism Denholm constantly faces even among Tesla’s long-term shareholders, it’s how little influence she wields over CEO Elon Musk.
Apart from her stock sales, Denholm is rarely visible. She emerged from the background only once last year to lobby for Musk’s pay package, the largest in human history and worth over $101 billion at the current stock price.
Supporters counter that anyone familiar with Musk will know he cannot be controlled. Nor, in their perspective, should he be, since his unconventional approach to managing distinguishes him as one of the greatest entrepreneurs of his generation.
They say Denholm understands that any attempt to rein him in would be tantamount to stifling his talent as a visionary, and therefore is counterproductive to growing the company in the long run.
A spokesman for Denholm told the paper her earnings were commensurate with the value created for investors: “Tesla has outperformed its industry peers and created outsized returns for the owners of the company, the shareholders.”
In the meantime, it’s doubtful that Denholm will stop unloading Tesla stock, given her pattern has been to consistently sell all stock as she exercises their underlying options.
