According to a recent report from the Associated Press, the average pay for CEOs in 2013 was more than $10 million, including various aspects of their compensation packages. This figure is part of a steady, year-over-year increase that has been going on since 2010. An executive search firm can take this into account when helping businesses look for qualified candidates.
Although the article notes that there's a trend in CEO payments to be "more attuned to performance," the recently observed numbers still suggest a high average for those in leadership positions. The highest-compensated were paid at rates well above this baseline, including Nabors Industries CEO Anthony Petrello, who earned nearly $70 million during this period.
The source quoted Dan Mitchell of the Libertarian Cato Institute, who said that there needs to be attention paid to CEO payment to make sure fair compensation is rendered and unnecessary disparities aren't created.
"We are still dealing with a situation where CEO compensation has spun out of control and CEOs are being paid extraordinary levels for their work," Mitchell said.
In addition to this information, The Wall Street Journal recently published the findings of its own survey. In its estimation, Larry Ellison of Oracle earned more than $76 million, but all of it in stock options. More varied was the payment of others like CBS's Leslie Moonves, who made more than $65 million through a combination of stock grants, awards and cash.
All of which is to say that as trends change, the options businesses have to reward their CEOs may also grow. A retained executive search firm can be a consistent source of good advice when it's time to process candidates based on their performance and the skills they have to offer.
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