Changing salary model for Swiss managers

The way Swiss companies pay their managers is changing, with equity-based compensation becoming more common.  As PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Switzerland noted in a report published on Tuesday, the gap between board member salaries at small firms and at large ones is narrowing.  Since 2007, pay for board members at Switzerland’s SMI companies (the 20 largest) has gone up by 12.4% to a median of CHF1.1 million ($1.15 million). During that same period, CEO pay at SMIM firms (ranked 21-50 on the SIX Swiss Exchange) has jumped by 80% – from a median CHF380,000 up to CHF690,000. As for SMI CEOs, the median pay has fallen to CHF7.5 million (-7.9%) over the past eight years. For SMIM CEOs, the rate has gone up to CHF3.4 million (+19.4%). At many Swiss companies, equity is playing an ever-larger role. According to PwC, it represented 50% of the typical compensation package at SMI companies in 2014, while in the case of SMIM companies, it was 35%.  “The level of ...