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.
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