Record pay for big executives in France in 2021, according to Proxinvest

The pay of top CAC 40 executives in France reached an average of 7.9 million euros last year, according to a report by Proxinvest, a shareholder consultancy published on Tuesday. The study finds “a dramatic increase in average and median compensation across all metrics (CAC 40 and SBF 120, editor’s note). We are certainly on the historical recordJeanne Leroy, Director of ESG Research (Environmental, Social and Governance Standards), said during a video conference with the media.

They are due to the very good post-covid results of the companies in 2021, on which the remuneration elements are indexed. The average total compensation of executives in the CAC 40 index increased by 52%, while that of the executive chairmen of the SBF 120 index, which is made up of the 120 largest companies listed in France, increased by 22% to 4.5 million euros. In either case, fifteen years is unheard of.

“The Carlos Tavares Effect”

These 2021 numbers are compared to 2019, before the health crisis, and not to 2020, which is considered a non-representative year given that some managers gave up some of their pay. Growth is also explained by Aeffect Carlos Tavares(CEO of the Franco-Italian-American automotive group) Stellantis (Peugeot-Citroën-Fiat…)“, whose total compensation (fixed, variable, shareholder) reached a record never seen by Proxinvest: EUR 66.7 million (EUR 19.15 million according to the company).

“This is the first time in 15 years that the company has submitted a total compensation of more than 50 million euros“, according to the report. Carlos Tavares’ compensation was rejected by Stellantis shareholders on April 15, but this vote was purely advisory in the Netherlands, where the company is based, unlike in France, where such a vote has been mandatory since 2018.

The difference between the figures of the automaker and Proxinvest is explained by the use of different calculation methods, since the amounts corresponding to the multi-year remuneration are settled by Stellantis over several years. To establish its rating, the Proxinvest report takes into account all elements of compensation: fixed, annual bonus, long-term multi-year compensation, share awards valued at the date of their award, in-kind benefits, etc.

It all blew up last year. Average fixed compensation increased by 4.2% and average annual bonus by 33.6% within the CAC 40, while the value of free performance stock allocations reached an all-time high in the SBF 120 with a 39.6% jump :

Salary dispersion

It also “the first time in eight years that the average compensation of CAC 40 executives is 100 times the average compensation of workers;“or 369 times the minimum wage on a 39-hour basis, according to the report, which finds less compliance with the socially acceptable maximum wage ceiling calculated by Proxinvest (€5.12 million). A total of 29 leaders are above this ceiling, compared to 14 in 2020 and 24 in 2019, which should reignite the debate about the purchasing power of the most modest, further crippled by inflation.

Between 2014 and 2021, the average salary of managers increased by 83.8%, that is, three times faster than that of workers, which increased by 23.9%. Proxinvest, a company that provides shareholders with voting recommendations for general meetings, is however pleased that from 2021 all CAC 40 companies have now integrated ESG performance criteria into one of the CEO’s variable compensations.

The top five highest-paid executives include Carlos Tavares (66.7 million euros), Bernard Charles from software group Dassault Systèmes (44.1 million euros, including 40.8 million in shareholder pay), Daniel Julien from call center company Teleperformance (19.6 million ). euros), François-Henri Pinot of luxury group Kering (€12 million) and Paul Hudson of pharmaceutical laboratory Sanofi (€9 million).s euros).