This report, ACSI’s 22nd annual survey of CEO pay in Australia’s largest listed companies, was conducted with research from Ownership Matters. It continues to be the benchmark longitudinal study into remuneration trends and outcomes including our unique ‘realised pay’ data.
Key findings:
- Average realised pay for ASX100 CEOs fell to the lowest level recorded in the nine years that realised pay data has been collected. As a multiple of average adult earnings, average realised CEO pay in the ASX100 fell from the post pandemic high of 98x to 55x adult weekly earnings.
- Three of the top 10 realised-pay outcomes, were achieved by US-based executives, with Resmed’s Mick Farrell topping the table at $47.14mn (note – these foreign-domiciled company figures are not included in Australian averages).
- The average realised pay for a foreign company CEO was $11.11mn compared to $4.17mn for the 159 Australian company CEOs. This average was largely due to ResMed’s Farrell and News Corporation’s Robert Thomson ($35.15mn including a cash bonus of US$8.13mn).
- Goodman Group’s Greg Goodman had the highest realised pay outcome for a domestic CEO with $44.34mn, although well down on the $264.2mn peak set in FY21 by Afterpay’s co-CEOs Anthony Eisen and Nick Molnar.
- Macquarie Group’s Shemara Wikramanayake has become the first woman to top the reported earnings table for ASX200 CEOs in successive years, with $23.72mn in FY22 (FY21: $15.97mn). This indicates participation in the highest realised pay list in future years.
- The median bonus outcome for an ASX100 CEO fell from the FY21 record of 76.7% to 71% of potential maximum – reverting to the outcomes of around 70% of maximum observed from FY15-18.
- Qantas’ Alan Joyce was the only ASX100 CEO to receive zero bonus. Joyce also received zero in FY21 & FY20. Joyce was, however, awarded a lucrative two-year retention equity allocation in FY22 which, at current share prices, will be worth ~$4.45mn if it vests (at a share price of $6.40).
- Charter Hall’s David Harrison and Steadfast’s Robert Kelly are the only ASX200 CEOs in the survey to have received maximum potential bonuses for the last four financial years, receiving a total of $10.02mn and $7.68mn respectively.
- Median fixed pay for the ASX100 CEO sample in FY22 ($1,741,724) was at its lowest level in the past 10 years. FY22’s result was 9% lower than in FY11 – the highest median in the history of the ASX100 study was FY12 at $1.95mn. This result follows the trend of new CEOs coming in at lower pay levels than their predecessors.
- The CEO with the highest fixed pay in the ASX200 sample in FY22 was an ASX101-200 CEO, Philippe Wolgen of Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals. He was the only CEO whose fixed pay was above $3mn, due largely to him being paid accrued leave of $1.31mn.
10 highest-paid ASX200 CEOs on a realised-pay basis in FY22 (includes ‘foreign company’ CEOs):
