The average executive compensation of the chairwoman of a company listed in Vienna’s ATX leading index rose slightly again in 2023. On average, one earned ATX CEO estimates around 3.1 million euros per year, 16.4 percent more than in 2022 Calculations by the Chamber of Labor (AK) for “Fat Cat Day” (in German: “Fat Cat Day”). For comparison: The median income rose by 7.8 percent in 2023.
With an average hourly wage of 814 Euro the CEOs deserved it 81-angry the average annual income (median) of an employee in Austria. The gap has therefore become significantly larger again. In 2022 it was 75 times as much.
Fat Cat Day is intended to show the pay gap
The “Fat Cat Day” is intended to make the salary gap between the board of directors and the workforce visible and is organized annually by the British lobby group “High Pay Center” calculated. It refers to the date on which the bosses of listed companies earned as much as an average earner in the entire year.
This year this day falls on, taking into account the non-working holidays and weekends January 8. Assuming a 12-hour day, an ATX boss can achieve this 48 hours or four working days the annual salary of an average earner. Last year (values for 2022), “Fat Cat Day” also fell on January 8th.
These are the fee emperors
There was a change among the fee emperors in the ATX. The absolute frontrunner was 2023 with an annual salary of 9.5 million euros Gerald Grohmannthe then CEO of Schoeller Bleckmann Oilfield Equipment AG (SBOE). According to the AK calculation, he earned the annual median income of an Austrian employee after just a 12-hour day and 4 additional hours on the second working day.
Gerald Grohmann was Schoeller-Bleckmann CEO until the end of 2023
Only just behind Grohmann is Bawag’s CEO Anas Abuzaakouk to an annual salary of 9.04 million euros.
Bawag-Chef Anas Abuzaakouk
Behind them follow at a greater distance Joachim Schönbeck by Andritz and Heimo Scheuch by Wienerberger. The only woman in the board ranking is the head of Immofinanz Radka Doehringwhich, with an annual salary of 1.08 million euros, takes at least eleven days for the median income.
Fat Cat Day symbolizes the day on which the annual income of employees was earned by CEOs of the largest listed companies.
According to the umbrella association of social insurance providers, the average gross annual income (median, 12 times) is used as income; for CEOs, the average executive compensation – fixed and variable components – of the 20 CEO companies listed in Vienna’s ATX leading index.
Assume: A CEO works 12 hours a day, takes one of 4 weekends off and has 10 days vacation plus 9 public holidays. He therefore works 320 days or 3,840 hours.
AK demands an “appropriate ratio” of fees
The Chamber of Labor demands that the company’s supervisory boards define an appropriate relationship between executive compensation and the workforce, but leaves open what it would consider “appropriate”. In addition, the company’s remuneration policy should Maximum limits for the individual remuneration of the members of the Board of Management.
Remuneration should not only be based on the financial success of the company, but also on the achievement of environmental, social and governance goals. At least one third of each should be included in the variable remuneration. Social criteria could include securing jobs. In the area of governance, bonuses should be linked to goals such as more women in leadership positions.
The AK also calls for more transparency in the very different remuneration reports. A standardized and individual statement of all remuneration components and criteria is essential, it says in a press release.
Investor representatives criticize Bawag
The Investor Interest Association (IVA) primarily criticizes the incomprehensible proportionality of Bawag’s remuneration policy. “The supervisory board is called upon to make improvements. However, Bawag is still a remuneration outlier and not a rule in Austria. From an international perspective, the domestic one would be Fat–Cat-Discussion without Bawag is a rather sad satire,” says IVA board member Florian Beckermann. Motivating the right top performers in accordance with the strategy in international competition is “a balancing act that does not always satisfy every critic.”
IV speaks of the “envy debate”
The industrial association criticized this in a press release “need debate” the Chamber of Labor. Top managers would be responsible for hundreds of thousands of employees. The fact is that “this “Fat Cat Day” is actually a “Fat Tax Day”,” says the IV. The annual wage tax payment (excluding social security contributions) of the 20 ATX CEOs makes a disproportionate contribution to the common good in Austria. The IV draws a comparison with the tax contribution of the 20 ATX CEOs could finance 88,924 Wiener Linien annual tickets in 2023.
The IV cannot understand that executive board remuneration should also be linked to sustainability performance in the areas of environment, social affairs and governance, as demanded by the AK. Entrepreneurs are already struggling with numerous bureaucratic requirements.