欧美首席执行官薪酬差距缩小

Hay Group的一项调查发现，欧洲最大50家上市公司的首席执行官正在缩小总体薪酬方面与美国同行的差距。仅就有保障的薪水而论，他们挣得比美国同行还多。

这家咨询机构发现，美国市值最大的50家公司的首席执行官去年遭遇了一次减薪，包括工资、奖金和长期报酬在内的总薪酬中值降为970万欧元（合1120万美元），而前一年则将近1300万欧元。

与此相反，今年的调查显示，欧洲首席执行官的总薪酬仍在增长，中值达到560万欧元，高于去年的500万欧元。

他们的年薪（总薪酬中唯一不与业绩挂钩的部分）目前平均为128万欧元，高于美国同行的93万欧元。他们中有半数在去年获得加薪，美国的加薪比例则为三分之二。

欧洲首席执行官中有12位任职英国公司。他们的总薪酬比欧洲大陆的首席执行官平均高12%，其中与业绩挂钩部分所占的份额也更大。

在首席执行官不兼任董事长的公司中，法国公司给出的总薪酬最高，现金部分的中值为200万欧元，高于67万欧元的欧洲整体水平。

多数美国公司的这两个岗位仍由一人担任。

所有这些数字都来自于年度披露报表，因此反映的是经济危机最严重阶段来临之前的情况。

美国的数字还反映了这样一个事实：在该调查于今年夏季完成之际，美元曾非常疲软。然而，即便以当前的汇率衡量，去年美国首席执行官的总薪酬仍大幅降至相当于1100万欧元的水平。

美欧首席执行官平均薪酬之间差距的缩小反映出几项关键的经济变化。

经济衰退最先对美国形成打击，拉低了首席执行官的奖金数额和所持股票的价值。

欧洲首席执行官的薪酬中来自长期激励计划的部分减少，但他们薪酬价值受信贷危机的影响程度低于美国同行。

信贷危机还改变了所选公司的构成，几家美国的大银行被从中剔除，而这些银行首席执行官的薪酬非常高。

美国首席执行官的总薪酬中有将近90%来自奖金和长期激励计划，欧洲的这一比例则为73%。

European bosses close gap on US salaries

The chief executives of Europe's 50 biggest public companies are starting to close the gap with their US counterparts in terms of total pay packages, a Hay Group study found. They also make more than them when only guaranteed salaries are considered.

The chiefs of the US's 50 biggest companies by market capitalisation took a pay cut last year, bringing home a median package of €9.7m ($11.2m) in salary, bonus and long-term compensation, down from just under €13m the previous year, the consultancy found.

European chief executive total compensation, by contrast, continued to grow to a median of €5.6m in this year's survey, up from €5m last year.
Their annual salaries – the only portion not linked to performance – now average €1.28m, compared with €930,000 for US chief executives. Half of the Europeans received an increase in salary last year, compared with two-thirds of Americans.

Twelve UK chief executives were included among the European companies. Their total compensation was 12 per cent higher than the Continental average and included a larger share of performance-linked pay.

Among companies that split the role of chairman and chief executive, the French pay the best, with a median cash package of €2m, compared with €670,000 for all of Europe.

Most US companies continue to combine the two roles.

All the numbers come from annual disclosure forms, so they predate the worst of the economic crisis.

The US figures also reflect the fact that the dollar was particularly weak when the study was completed over the summer. But even at today's exchange rates, US chief executive pay still dropped significantly last year, to the equivalent of €11m.

The narrowing of the gap between average US and European compensation reflects several key economic shifts.

The economic downturn hit the US first, denting the size of chief executives' bonuses and the value of their shares.

Europeans receive less of their compensation in long-term incentive plans and the value of what they received was not as affected by the credit crunch.

The credit crunch also changed the composition of the companies, pushing out several large US banks where chief executives had been especially well paid.

US chief executives received almost 90 per cent of their total compensation in bonuses and long-term incentives, compared with 73 per cent for Europeans.