Vlerick publishes the results of an investigation into top salaries in Belgian listed companies
The Executive Remuneration Research Centre of the Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School in cooperation with GUBERNA, The Directors’ Institute, has concluded its annual research into the remuneration of top managers. 99 listed companies were considered for the analysis. In addition to practices related to publication the research also focused on the amount and composition of the remuneration package. The figures concern 2008. They produce interesting findings as compared to 2007.
Xavier Baeten, manager of the Vlerick Reward Centre, sums up the main conclusions: “In 2008 the crisis had a considerable impact on the bonus of top managers. In almost all listed companies the bonus dropped considerably. Whereas in 2007 the bonus still represented 37% of the total remuneration package of a Bel 20 CEO, in 2008 it plummeted to 13%. However, the weight of the share-related remuneration has remained stable.
On average the total cash remuneration of CEOs has dropped by one third.
A growing number of companies are publishing their top salaries, but there is still room for improvement. The Bel 20 companies are already endeavouring to comply with the recommendation in respect of transparency of the top salaries, yet a third of the Bel Mid and up to half the Bel Small companies still have a long way to go. Furthermore, communication about the bonus systems and severance pay is open to improvement.”
Published on 17/02/2010
