The high-flying Novartis ceo, who has been widely criticized for his pension and $36 million salary, will lose his ‘golden parachute’ clause in his new contract. The current deal entitles him to 36 months in pay on termination of the contract, and an additional 24 months in the event of a hostile takeover, board member Ulrich Lehner said at the annual meeting in Basel, Switzerland.

“These few contracts reflect the times when they were signed in the 1990s — a period of industry turmoil and consolidation, and stability in the leadership team was critical to the success of Novartis,” Novartis spokesman John Gilardi told Bloomberg News.

Earlier today, Vasella defended his dual role as chairman and ceo, another flash point for shareholder groups who monitor corporate governance. He told shareholders there is ‘more than one’ way to approach managerial structure, although he also said the Novartis board was meeting without him to discuss the issue.

But it appears that nothing is changing. A statement that was just released, which declared a dividend and announced that Vasella was re-elected to the board for a three-year term, contains a quote from him in which he’s identified as both chairman and ceo.

No parachute, but he’s certain to have a soft landing, anyway.

[tags]Corporate Governance, Daniel Vasella, Novartis[/tags]