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Leadership Insights

The 2024 List of Australia's Highest-Paid CEOs

5 min read

In today's fast-paced business environment, it's essential for stakeholders and industry professionals to grasp the trends and factors shaping CEO compensation. To provide valuable insights, we've partnered with Australian data company Open Director to unveil the top highest-paid CEOs for 2024.

The 2024 CEO Salary Report offers a comprehensive look at the earnings of Australia's corporate leaders, with some eye-catching results. In her fourth year, Macquarie Group’s Shemara Wikramanayake is Australia’s best-paid CEO leading the investment bank.

While we saw the median pay for ASX100 CEOs slightly declined, realised pay surged as many CEOs outperformed their targets amid volatile market conditions and record ASX highs.

The Top Paid CEOs of 2024

Source: CEO Salary 2024 Report by Open Director and Odgers Berndtson Australia

 

The Remuneration Trends: Our Observations

"This year’s increase in realised pay shouldn’t come as a surprise,” said Toby Gardner, Managing Partner of Australia, New Zealand & Southeast Asia at Odgers Berndtson, reflecting on the trends driving executive compensation.

Significant efforts in cost management and delivering returns have led to outperformance in short and long-term incentive plans.

The report also highlights a shifting focus on executive remuneration models. Companies are increasingly tying compensation to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) metrics, with some sectors linking up to 40% of pay to ESG KPIs. Additionally, the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming pay structures.

AI is enhancing labour productivity and reshaping compensation strategies, rewarding executives who successfully integrate these technologies into their operations.

Toby Gardner Managing Partner Australia, New Zealand & Southeast Asia

However, concerns remain over the alignment between pay and investor expectations. The past year saw many “strikes” against ASX companies over at-risk remuneration structures, prompting boards to rethink performance models.

Sectors like Healthcare and Industrials have experienced notable pay increases, reflecting global competition and local growth in these industries. Smaller companies within the S&P/ASX 300 also drive CEO median pay increases, offering unique opportunities for executives to effect meaningful change in a condensed timeframe.

Australian CEO Salary Report 2024

Discover the latest trends in CEO compensation and insights in our 2024 report on Australia's highest-paid CEOs.

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