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Study shows salaries of CEOs in Switzerland rose by 5% in 2023

5 percent more pay for CEOs
UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti was the best-paid CEO in the Swiss Market Index (SMI) in 2023 with a total salary of CHF14.5 million. Keystone-SDA

The top bosses of the largest listed Swiss companies saw their salaries rise by an average of 5% last year. Average total remuneration packages rose to CHF 8 million ($9.2 million), according to a study by the Ethos Foundation.

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Ethos said last year’s growth figures were influenced by the salary of UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti. In 2023, he was the best-paid CEO in the Swiss Market Index (SMI) with a total salary of CHF14.5 million for a nine-month term of office.

+ What’s behind a CEO’s paycheck in Switzerland 

He was followed in second and third place by the CEO of Novartis with CHF13.3 million and the former CEO of Nestlé with CHF11.2 million. Overall, the total remuneration of SMI CEOs has risen by around a quarter over three years.

+ Top Swiss CEOs earn 143 times more than lowest paid staff

However, opposition to such salary increases has been growing, writes Ethos.

In 2024, 17.7% of shareholders rejected top managers’ remuneration demands at annual general meetings, compared to 13.8% in 2023 and 13.1% in 2022.

Translated from German by DeepL/sb

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