Executive
directors’ base salaries have increased by 12 per cent over the past year,
according to a survey by remuneration specialists Inbucon.
CEOs
now command a median base pay of £513, 917, finance directors £307,500 and
executive chairmen £414,000, the report finds.
The
research also reveals that salaries vary greatly depending on the size of the
firm. In those companies with the smallest market value, a CEO can expect a
basic salary of £362, 967. But CEOs in the largest firms receive average annual
base salaries of £607,626.
Similarly,
executive chairmen can find their wages varying between £259,500 and £710,427.
The
research shows that share options and long-term incentive plans are the most
popular forms of incentive introduced for FTSE 100 directors. Two-thirds of
long-term incentive plans operate a maximum payout value typically set at 100
per cent of base salary.
Share
option schemes are potentially more lucrative, with more than half of such
schemes allowing a maximum of more than 200 per cent of salary and 33 per cent of
schemes operating no upper limit.
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Unlike
other occupational groups, the survey of 257 companies suggests that salary
increases among directors have been driven by competition for talent rather
than inflation. www.inbucon.co.uk