The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted many companies, but did not offset the compensation for most business leaders.
The average compensation of executives in chief of more than 300 of the major US public companies reached $ 13.7 million last year, compared to $ 12.8 million of the same companies the previous year and he set a record, according to an analysis by the Wall Street Journal.
Wages continued to rise in 2020, as some companies moved performance targets or modified wage structures in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the accompanying economic pain. The salary cuts taken by CEOs in the depths of the crisis had little effect. The stock market rise boosted what the top executives took away, as much of their compensation comes in the form of capital.
In some cases, investors have responded by withholding support for corporate wage practices in annual advisory votes, increasing pressure on business boards. With the annual meeting season just beginning – 80% of the S&P 500 has not yet voted, according to payment data firm Equilar – shareholders have given the minimum to pay the agreements to a dozen large companies, including Starbucks Corp Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.
“I don’t think we’ve seen anything like this before in terms of the number of changes we’ve seen in incentive plans” during the pandemic, said Shaun Bisman, a compensation and corporate governance consultant for Compensation Advisory Partners in New York.