Australia Post has waved off Ahmed Fahour with a $10.8 million farewell but the former chief executive's success has ensured there should never be a need to repeat such controversial largesse.
Chairman John Stanhope on Friday distanced the current leadership from the 2010 decision to award the contract that led to Mr Fahour's bumper final pay packet.
However Mr Stanhope acknowledged the agreement had done what it was designed to do.
Former NAB executive Mr Fahour drove a spectacular turnaround of Australia Post before announcing his departure in February amid a furore over his pay, with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull among the critics.
Australia Post has already said former Blackmores chief Christine Holgate will get no more than $2.75 million per year when she replaces Mr Fahour.
The organisation will also scrap long-term incentives for senior executives to trim their pay by about 20 per cent.
"We understand that community expectations have changed, no question about that, regarding executive remuneration," Mr Stanhope said.
Nonetheless, Mr Stanhope indicated the lucrative contract had worked.
"It was a contract aimed at enticing a high-level, talented executive to transform Australia Post," Mr Stanhope said.
Australia Post had been staring at the prospect of an earnings hole due to an impending decline in letter volumes that had already hit overseas, but Mr Fahour successfully refocused the business on parcels and e-commerce.
The turnaround included a painful $222 million loss two years ago, but the parcels business has since been the cornerstone of a $36 million profit in 2016 and the $95 million full-year profit announced on Friday.
Australia Post will now pay Ms Holgate a more restrained $1.375 million salary, with the same amount available in short-term incentives.
"It's far less of a package than we previously offered," Mr Stanhope said.
Mr Fahour's final pay packet includes a long-term incentive payment of $4 million on top of his $6.8 million in salary, short-term incentives and super.
Mr Stanhope stressed there was no exit payment for Mr Fahour and that the long-term incentive payments were a result of standards being met in two of the past three financial years.
The current board, none of whom were involved in arranging Mr Fahour's contract, now believe that short-term incentives were more appropriate.
"I'm not trying to set a benchmark for corporate Australia here but long-term incentive plans probably drive performance not as strongly," Mr Stanhope said.
The Prime Minister said this year's move to bring the chief executive's pay within the purview of the Remuneration Tribunal means there should be no repeat of the bonanza.
"You won't see its like again at Australia Post," Mr Turnbull said.
"We've taken steps to ensure that the salary is proportionate to the task at hand."
Mr Stanhope said the removal of long-term incentives was an important step.
"Will that satisfy everybody in the community? Probably not," Mr Stanhope said.
"But we have done what we should do in recognising that community expectations have changed."
