Shareholder activists eye JSE underperformers

The average chairperson of a board on the JSE earns a fee of R834 000. Photo: Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters
JOHANNESBURG – The average chairperson of a board on the JSE earns a fee of R834 000, while more millennials are now sitting on boards, according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC’s) 13th edition of the non-executive directors: Practices and fees trends report issued on Tuesday.

Board fees in South Africa are increasingly under the shareholder activist microscope as they question the excessive fees paid to some boards in companies that are under-performing in a stagnant economy.

As regards remuneration, the report said the median chairperson fee across the entire JSE has risen by 5.9 percent to R834 000 from a 5 percent hike in 2018. Some organisations included the position of a deputy chairperson, who assisted the chairperson and filled in if they were unavailable.

Deputy chairpersons received a lower median increase than that of the chairpersons, at 2.3 percent (2018: 5 percent) to R704 000. The median fee for lead independent directors increased by 2.7 percent (in 2018 it was 1.7 percent) to R550 000 at the median level.

The report showed that the median increase in remuneration for non-executive directors in all sectors was above the consumer price index by a wide margin at 6.8 percent (2018: 5.3 percent) to R553 000.

Source: iol.co.za