A report on the salaries of CEOs across Europe has found that Switzerland once again tops the table, ahead of Great Britain and Germany. The report also discovers that salaries have risen over the past year.
CHF8.7 million ($9.05 million): this was the median compensation of bosses of top companies in Switzerland in 2017, according to this year’s Eurotop 100 report, released on Thursday by consultancy group Willis Towers WatsonExternal link.
Like last year, this puts Switzerland firmly at the head of the European rankings for CEO pay, ahead of Great Britain (a median of CHF7.21 million) and Germany (CHF7.18 million).
Sevrin Schwan, CEO of Swiss pharmaceutical group Roche, led the individual race, taking home CHF14.57 million. He was followed by Carlos Brito, head of brewing group AB Inbev (CHF14.49 million) and Sergio Ermotti of UBS bank (CHF14.16 million).
Notable is that among the 100 largest European companies, Swiss CEOs receive the lowest proportion of their compensation in the form of fixed salaries, at 25%, the report writes.
Rather, “high variable components [such as bonuses] give them a greater opportunity to earn a top salary,” wrote Olaf Lang, managing director of Willis Towers Watson.
Cultures of pay incentives differ across Europe, the report goes on: in Scandinavia, it writes, considerably more emphasis is placed on fixed compensation (see table below).
External Content
Slimming the fat cats
Overall, the total direct compensation of the Swiss companies surveyed in the report was almost unchanged from last year, at +0.1%. The European median rose by about 5%.
In March 2013, Swiss voters backed an initiative to curb the high salaries of what they considered “fat cat” executives. However, later that year they rejected the idea of limiting executive pay to 12 times that of their company’s lowest wage.
So although shareholders of listed firms now have binding votes on remuneration packages, and various types of bonuses such as “golden parachute” severance agreements are forbidden, the initiative doesn’t appear to have had much effect on the size of the top salaries.
However, new rules being prepared in Europe could have an impact on Swiss pay. The European Union’s new shareholders’ rights directive (SRD) requires a binding vote by shareholders on remuneration policy and a non-binding vote on the individual salaries of executives.
Firms must also disclose the relationship between the highest and lowest pay packages. The directive must be implemented by June 2019.
Popular Stories
More
Climate adaptation
Why Switzerland is among the ten fastest-warming countries in the world
This content was published on
Solar energy pioneer Raphaël Domjan and his team continued preparations for the altitude record attempt at 10,000 metres with the SolarStratos solar aircraft.
This content was published on
Cattle in the canton of Geneva and in the neighbouring region of Terre Sainte in the canton of Vaud are being vaccinated against the contagious viral skin nodule disease. The first cases of the animal disease were reported at the end of June in France, just outside Geneva.
Fewer attacks on Swiss ATMs but their future remains uncertain
This content was published on
Bank ATMs in Switzerland are less prone to attacks by criminals, but their future remains uncertain given the less active use of cash by the population.
This content was published on
A series of rockfalls occurred above the village of Brienz between 9 and 12 July. According to the municipality of Albula, the overall situation remains tense. Several people disregarded the ban on entering the area around the village.
This content was published on
Arosa Bergbahnen achieved the highest figure in its 95-year history in the 2024/25 financial year with net revenue of CHF 37 million. Arosa Lenzerheide was able to capitalise on strengths such as snow reliability and the size of the ski area in a long winter season, the company announced on Thursday.
This content was published on
Unknown perpetrators stole ceramic dental implants during a break-in at a company in Oensingen, northern Switzerland, on Tuesday night.
Euro 2025: Bern prepares for massive parade ahead of Switzerland-Spain game
This content was published on
The last Euro 2025 match to be played in Bern, the quarterfinal between Spain and Switzerland at 9pm on Friday, promises to be a great celebration of football.
Clariant faces further ethylene price-fixing claim
This content was published on
Swiss chemicals group Clariant is facing a further claim for damages in connection with ethylene price-fixing agreements.
This content was published on
The Grande Dixence dam in Lower Valais is closed to visitors due to a rockfall last weekend. The nearby hotel also had to temporarily suspend operations for safety reasons.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
How much do Swiss people earn in 2018?
This content was published on
Who are the biggest wage winners and losers in recent years? Statistics published by canton Zurich detail local salaries for various professions.
This content was published on
Zurich and Geneva are among the top cities in the world for expat salaries, according to this year’s HSBC expat salary survey.
This content was published on
UBS CEO received CHF14.2 million ($14.92 million) in compensation for 2017, up from CHF13.7 million in 2016, UBS said on Friday.
This content was published on
The Eurotop 100 study, published on Tuesday, analysed the direct remuneration – not including pension or bonuses – of the CEOs of the 100 most highly capitalised blue-chip companiesExternal link in Europe. The report only includes the 74 bosses who had held the position all year – with the result, for example, that Credit Suisse…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.