McKesson will pay Beer a $1.1 million signing bonus and a base salary of $800,000 with an opportunity to double that sum in the company's management incentive plan, as well as a $446,000 bonus if he remains with the company until the close of March 2014, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company is also recommending that its compensation committee approve various stock awards with grant-date values totaling about $9 million.
“McKesson is strongly positioned to take advantage of tremendous growth opportunities in healthcare as the industry transforms through health reform,” Beer said in a news release announcing the appointment.
Before working for Symantec, a computer security company, Beer was CFO for American Airlines and its parent, AMR Corp. McKesson Chairman and CEO John Hammergren praised his experience leading publicly traded companies in different industries.