The board hired him to do a job, and he probably did it. Not the job you wanted done? You're not on the board.
They hired him to run one of the largest brands in the world into the ground?
It sounds unlikely, although it did happen in a fictional movie called The Hudsucker Proxy (it's a good one).
Also, I'm no stranger to the boardroom. Board members and CEO:s are often tapped from various old boys' networks. If anyone should rock the boat by speaking up on moral issues or voicing dissent over unreasonable decisions, they are usually told they don't have the stomach for business. Then they will be replaced and never tapped again.
Also, the logic behind payouts like this one is that anyone could screw up. If you punish someone for screwing up by withholding their payouts, then you could be the next one punished if you screw up.
All this will of course be disguised in words like you need to pay best bucks for the best brains and the big payouts are necessary because there is no job security in the management business. It's rubbish of course. There are plenty of skilled and self-less people who would run a company for a modest pay. They are just never asked to do it.