UK CEOs paid triple that of Indian counterparts: Report
The average remuneration for CEOs of the 100 largest listed companies in the UK has reached an all-time high. According to a report by High Pay Centre, the median salary for a CEO increased from £4.1 million (around ₹43.97 crore) in 2022 to £4.19 million (approximately ₹44.94 crore) in 2023. In contrast, the average CEO compensation in India stood at ₹13.8 crore last year. Meanwhile, CEOs who were also promoters were paid an average of ₹16.7 crore.
UK's top earners and gender disparity in leadership
AstraZeneca's CEO Pascal Soriot topped list of highest-paid bosses for a second consecutive year, earning £16.85 million, up from £15.3 million in 2022. Other top earners included RELX's Erik Engstrom (£13.64 million), Tufan Erginbilgic of Rolls Royce (£13.61 million), and Charles Woodburn of BAE Systems (£13.45 million). The report highlighted a significant gender disparity among FTSE 100 companies, with only 12 having female CEOs who served for at least part of the year, and median pay amounting to £2.69 million.
UK lags behind US in pay growth rate
Despite the record high, the pace of increase in UK CEO pay lags behind that of their US counterparts. The 2% rise for UK CEOs contrasts with a 12.5% annual hike in median CEO pay for S&P 500 companies last year, according to data provider ISS-Corporate. This slower growth rate comes amid calls for UK executives to get higher compensation to compete with levels seen in the US.
