Laura Franco
About Laura Franco
Laura Franco, 62, is Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Sphere Entertainment Co. (SPHR) and also serves as EVP & General Counsel of Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSGE). She joined both companies in February 2024 after serving as Chief Legal & Compliance Officer at Bumble (2020–2024), and previously as EVP & General Counsel at CBS Corporation (2019) and EVP & General Counsel for the CBS business of ViacomCBS (2019–2020); she began her career at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in M&A and securities law . SPHR’s compensation program for executives emphasizes pay-for-performance using Adjusted Operating Income (AOI), Revenue, and strategic objectives; in the 2024 Transition Period SPHR generated $536.2 million in revenue and $22.7 million AOI, and Corporate incentive payouts were 99.58% of target based on blended Sphere/MSG Networks performance .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bumble Inc. | Chief Legal & Compliance Officer | Nov 2020–Feb 2024 | Led legal/compliance at a social networking company during public-company scaling . |
| ViacomCBS (CBS business) | EVP & General Counsel | Dec 2019–Nov 2020 | Oversaw legal for CBS business post-2019 merger . |
| CBS Corporation | EVP & General Counsel | Mar 2019–Dec 2019 | Senior legal leadership pre-merger . |
| Paramount Global/CBS/Viacom | Various legal roles | 1995–2019 | Long-tenured media legal executive across major content businesses . |
| Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP | Associate (M&A and securities law) | Early career | Transactional and securities foundation . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virgin Voyages | Director | Current | Board service disclosed in SPHR proxy . |
Fixed Compensation
SPHR’s executive compensation framework (applies to executive officers, including the General Counsel):
- Significant portion of total direct compensation is incentive-based; mix reviewed to balance fixed vs. at-risk, cash vs. equity, near- vs. long-term .
- Elements in 2024 Transition Period: base salary; discretionary cash incentives; long-term incentives; retirement/benefits; perquisites; post-termination compensation .
| Component | Performance Link | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Base Salary | n/a | Fixed pay based on role, performance, experience; reviewed annually . |
| Annual Incentive (Corporate) | Sphere 80% / MSG Networks 20% | Discretionary performance-based cash, blending segment strategic and financial results . |
| Annual Incentive (Sphere segment) | Sphere results | Discretionary performance-based cash on Sphere strategic/financial KPIs . |
| Annual Incentive (MSG Networks segment) | MSG Networks results | Discretionary performance-based cash on segment KPIs . |
| Long-term incentives (RSUs) | Stock price | 50% cliff-vest at 3 years; 50% ratable over 3 years; aligns with stockholder interests . |
Performance Compensation
For the 2024 Transition Period, SPHR used a discretionary framework given the change in fiscal year and evolving Sphere business; program design targeted AOI, Revenue, and strategic objectives for longer-term alignment .
| Metric | Weighting | Target Setting | Actual/Payout | Vesting / Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate unit result (blended) | Sphere 80% / MSGN 20% | Discretionary assessment of segment strategic and financial performance | 99.58% of target payout for Corporate business unit | Cash paid per annual incentive cycle . |
| Long-term RSUs (Transition Period) | n/a | Time-based; market-value aligned | n/a (structure-only) | 50% cliff at 3 years; 50% ratable over 3 years . |
| Ongoing Performance Measures | n/a | AOI, Revenue, strategic objectives emphasized | n/a (framework) | Incorporated in annual and LTIP upon finalization of long-range plan . |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Beneficial ownership table lists certain executives and directors; Laura Franco is disclosed as an executive officer but is not separately enumerated in the stock ownership table cells provided, indicating no specific share count disclosed in that section .
- Conflicts and cross-appointments: Franco also serves as EVP & GC of MSGE; SPHR notes potential conflicts where executives hold roles or equity at MSGE/MSGS/AMC Networks and have overlapping corporate opportunities; SPHR has a related-party transaction approval policy to mitigate such risks .
- Cross-entity vesting policy: For outstanding Company awards (and related MSGE awards), holders continue to vest while employed by SPHR, MSGE, MSGS or their subsidiaries; the entities are not treated as competitors for award non-compete purposes. Vesting ceases if an employee moves between entities after they are no longer affiliates .
Employment Terms
- Executive Officer status: Franco is listed among SPHR’s executive officers (EVP & General Counsel) .
- Specific employment agreement, base salary, bonus target, severance terms, clawbacks, ownership guidelines, and pledging disclosures for Franco were not found in SPHR filings searched; therefore, precise economics are not disclosed in available documents [Search coverage above].
- General program terms: Post-termination and vesting provisions are detailed for NEOs and certain executives in the proxy, but Franco is not included among the named executive officers for the 2024 Transition Period tables .
Company Performance Context During Franco’s Tenure
| Metric | 2024 Transition Period (Jul–Dec 2024) |
|---|---|
| Revenue ($USD Millions) | $536.2 |
| AOI ($USD Millions) | $22.7 |
Additional context: Corporate unit incentive payout was 99.58% of target for the Transition Period . Pay-versus-performance disclosures identify AOI, Revenue, and strategic objectives as key measures aligning compensation with performance .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: As EVP & GC, Franco participates in an executive framework that emphasizes equity-linked pay (RSUs) and performance measures (AOI, Revenue, strategic objectives), promoting shareholder alignment; long-term RSUs with cliff and ratable vesting create retention hooks and reduce immediate selling pressure .
- Disclosure gap: Lack of individual compensation and ownership detail for Franco limits precision in pay-for-performance and “skin-in-the-game” analysis; monitor future proxies and potential Form 4 filings to assess insider activity and ownership alignment .
- Governance risk: Dual GC roles at SPHR and MSGE highlight potential conflicts of interest; SPHR acknowledges such risks and outlines approval policies, but cross-entity dynamics warrant ongoing monitoring around related-party transactions and strategic decision-making .
- Program robustness: SPHR’s 2024 say-on-pay support (~93.7% of votes cast) suggests investor acceptance of the broader compensation framework; while not specific to Franco, it indicates low systemic compensation risk at the company level .