In 2024, the CEOs of companies listed on the Swiss stock exchange earned significantly more on average than in the previous year. This result confirms the trend of rising CEO remuneration in Switzerland, particularly since 2020 and the Covid pandemic. Non-executive chairpersons of the boards of directors of large Swiss companies are among the highest earners in international comparison. Remuneration reports were the most controversial item on the agenda at the general meetings. This is shown by a study published by Ethos on the remuneration of top executives and the 2025 general meetings of companies listed on the Swiss stock exchange.
Ethos has analysed the voting results at this year's annual general meetings and the remuneration of CEOs and chairpersons of the boards of directors of the largest companies listed in Switzerland. The results show that CEO salaries are trending upwards. In 2024, the average salary of an SMI CEO was 8.3 million francs, an increase of 7.4 % on average compared with the previous year. These remuneration levels tended to decline between 2014 and the Covid years. Since 2020, however, the trend has been upwards again, with salaries in 2024 being roughly the same as ten years earlier. These results place the average CEO salaries of Switzerland's largest listed companies behind those in the Anglo-Saxon region (USA, Canada, United Kingdom), but at the top of the continental European region.
Significant growth in CEO remuneration at smaller companies
In 2024, the average CEO of a medium-sized company (SMIM) earned 4.3 million francs (+37 % compared to 2023), while remuneration at the 135 even smaller companies was 1.5 million francs per year (+5.5 % compared to 2023). While the salaries of CEOs of medium-sized and smaller companies have fluctuated more sharply over the past ten years, they have also recorded significantly higher average annual growth than SMI companies. SMIM CEO compensation increased by an average of 1.25 %per year, or a total of 13 %. The smallest companies saw annual growth of 2.6 % and a ten-year increase of 30 %.
Top remuneration for chairpersons of SMI companies
In 2024, the chairpersons of SMI companies’ boards of directors received an average of 2.3 million francs. This represents a 9.3 % increase on the previous year, but a 8.8 % decrease on 2014. As with CEOs, these remuneration levels fell between 2014 and 2020, but have risen again since then. Remuneration for non-executive chairpersons is among the highest in international comparison. In contrast, smaller companies saw zero growth compared to the previous year: an average of 946’000 francs for a chairperson of an SMIM company and 356’000 francs for even smaller companies.
Shareholders remain critical of remuneration
The average approval rate for the remuneration report at the 2025 general meetings was 86.9 % among the 155 SPI companies that have held such a consultative vote to date. This represents an increase of 1.8 percentage points (85.1 %) compared to the previous year. Among SMI companies, approval even climbed to 89 % from 82.3 % in the previous year, although the general meetings of Logitech and Richemont will not take place until September. Despite less opposition from shareholders, the remuneration report remains the most controversial topic at general meetings on average. The average approval rate for all agenda items was 95.2 %.
Long-term shareholders, such as the Ethos Foundation and its member pension funds, remained critical in 2025 with regard to both management remuneration and sustainability reporting. Since the beginning of the year, Ethos has recommended voting in favour of 40 % of remuneration reports and 40 % of sustainability reports.
Ethos rejected remuneration reports that did not comply with the principles of its guidelines. This was the case, for example, if the remuneration report lacked sufficient transparency, the amounts were too high in comparison with companies of a similar size, or if the variable remuneration exceeded three times the base salary. Criticism was also levelled when the leverage effect of variable remuneration components was excessively high, or when the performance criteria were not demanding enough.
Vincent Kaufmann, CEO of Ethos, states: ‘Given the potential impact of the leverage effect of long-term remuneration, we expect companies to be more transparent about the remuneration actually paid. By publishing, explaining and justifying this remuneration properly, companies can not only limit criticism but also shareholder protests at general meetings.’
Consistent exercise of shareholder rights brings progress
It is then up to shareholders to fulfil their role, exercise their rights consistently and intervene when necessary. Improvements can be achieved in practice, in particular through the exercise of shareholder voting rights and dialogue with companies. Thanks to continuous and constructive dialogue with SPI companies over several years, Ethos has significantly increased the proportion of companies that publish sufficient information on performance-related salary components. The consistent application of performance criteria in long-term remuneration has also improved significantly. Furthermore, the proportion of companies that hold a binding rather than a consultative vote on the sustainability report, as requested by Ethos, has increased by twelve percentage points to 68 % within a year.
Ethos Study - Remunerations 2024 and voting results at AGM 2025 (in French)
Ethos Study - Remunerations 2024 and voting results at AGM 2025 (in German)
