Guerdon Associates’ GECN Group will release a summary report on global CEO pay in large publicly listed companies across all major stock exchanges in early 2026.

The report will show how Australian pay practices compare to other markets where ASX-listed companies compete for executive talent.

Preview findings include:

• Predictably, the US sets the benchmark for CEO pay quantum. Adjusting for purchasing power parity shrinks the gap to other markets, yet US CEOs still command a clear premium. Even when considered as a % of market capitalisation, US CEO pay is still well above the rest of the world.
• Preliminary regressions found market capitalisation and revenue are significant (p value less than 0.05) predictors of CEO pay. The premium for US CEOs is approximately $10m over Australian CEOs..
• Only 10% of CEOs globally are women. Female CEO representation in Australian companies is significantly higher than the global average, but nevertheless the proportion of women CEOs remains strikingly low.
• The target pay mix for Australian CEOs is similar to European CEOs, with approximately equal weighting to fixed pay, STI and LTI. This contrasts with CEOs in the US where long-term incentives and equity often make up 75% or more of the total package.
• Performance rights (PSUs) dominate the playbook across all markets. Restricted shares (RSUs) are frequently used alongside PSUs in the US but not in other regions. In effect this rebalances the mix of “guaranteed” to “variable” pay to be more similar across regions.

Further details will be provided in our executive summary to be published next year followed by a webinar.

If you would like to receive an advance copy of the report, email us at info@guerdonassociates.com

See HERE for more information about our GECN Group’s global service offering.

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