Special Report: Best value CEOs

WA Business News' third annual salary survey has idesntified a growing pool of millionaire executives but found it is necessary to go beyond the headline numbers to understand remuneration trends. Mark Beyer reports.

Wesfarmers broke with widely accepted industry practice when it negotiated the salary package for its new chief executive Richard Goyder earlier this year.

The number of Western Australian chief executives earning more than $1 million increased to 37 last financial year, helped in most cases by bonuses and share options.

Shareholders in engineering and mining contractor Macmahon Holdings gave the company a bloodied nose at its annual general meeting this month, with shareholders who hold 19 per cent of shares voting against the company’s remuneration plan.

The role of chairman of a board of directors is normally a part-time position, yet the chairmen at some of Western Australia’s biggest companies earn more than most chief executives.

Australian chief executives are guaranteed half of their income, irrespective of performance, a national survey has found.

Biotechnology is a lucrative sector for chief executives, judging by the remuneration paid by Perth-based companies such as pSivida, Regenera and Stirling Products.

The top executives at emerging biotech company Regenera had a bumper year in 2005 courtesy of performance shares, which are rarely used in Australia.

The salary package paid to Health Department director general Neale Fong continues to attract a lot of comment because it is substantially higher than any other public sector salary, yet it also highlights the disparity between private sector and public s