/ 6 October 2008

Showing CEOs the money

Imagine what you could do with R99,1-million, which is what construction company Murray & Roberts chief executive Brian Bruce took home last year.

He was closely followed by his colleague Murray & Roberts chief financial officer Roger Rees, who took home R60,9-million.

Bruce cashed in R90,1-million in Murray & Roberts options that he had been awarded over the past four or five years, which boosted his total package of R9-million quite substantially, while Rees cashed in R55,2-million in share options.

Bruce’s guaranteed package is only R3,5-million and his bonus was a hefty R5,5-million.

However, the award for the biggest bonus goes to Clientele Life’s Gavin Soll, whose bonus was an unbelievable R17-million.

His closest competition in the insurance sector was Sanlam’s Johan van Zyl with a bonus of R9,2-million and a total pay packet of R13,8-million and Liberty Group chief executive Bruce Hemphill with a bonus of R7,5-million and a total pay packet of R10,5-million.

Absa’s Steve Booysen was the chief executive with the highest total pay pack last year, taking home a total of R18,8-million made up of a guaranteed package of R5,8-million and a bonus of R13-million.

Standard Bank chief executive Jaco Maree was close behind with a total pay packet of R18,6-million, followed by First Rand chief executive Paul Harris with R16,5-million and Nedbank chief executive Tom Boardman with R11,8-million.

Shoprite’s Whitey Basson had the highest guaranteed package of R12,6-million, towering above Pick n Pay’s Raymond Ackerman with R2,8-million and Spar’s Wayne Hook with R2-million.

The details of South Africa’s top executive remuneration packages are contained in the Mabili Director’s remuneration report 2008, launched this week at the Inanda Club by Mabili’s head of reward division, Laurence Grubb.

Each year a team of Mabili staffers from the company’s reward division trawl through annual reports collating details of remuneration packages.

The report shows that chief executives in the basic materials category, which includes mining, oil, gas, chemicals, forestry and paper, have the highest average guaranteed package of R3,7-million. Consumer goods companies are second with R3,1-million and finance companies third with R2,9-million. The lowest was information technology companies with an average of R2-million.

However, finance companies had the highest total packages, which include bonuses, with an average of R7,3-million, followed by basic materials companies with R7,1-million and consumer goods with R4,6-million.

Information technology companies bring up the rear with an average of R3,4-million.

Two former mining bosses scored big last year. Anglo Gold Ashanti’s ex-chief executive Bobby Godsell walked away with R53-million, made up of R35-million in share options, a R20,2-million resignation package and R5,9-million guaranteed package.

Anglo Platinum’s ex-chief executive Ralph Havenstein walked away with R37,4-million, made up of a guaranteed package of R4,1-million, a bonus of R7,8-million and share options of R25,4-million.

Highveld Steel and Vanadium chief executive Andre de Nysschen walked away with R49-million, made up of a guaranteed package of R3,7-million, a bonus of R1,6-million, a loss of office payment of R14,2-million and R29,6-million of share options.

Other high-profile executives who took home healthy packages are MTN’s chief executive Phuthuma Nhleko with a total package of R16,3-million, Sasol’s chief executive Pat Davies with R12,1-milllion, Transnet’s Maria Ramos with R8-million, Eskom’s Thulani Gcabashe with R6,2-million, ARM’s Patrice Motsepe with R6,2-million, Mvelaphanda’s Tokyo Sexwale with R5,5-million, SAA’s Khaya Ngqula with R5-million and SABC chief executive Dali Mpofu with R3,8-million.