Two CEOs of major advertising holding companies are above average — at least in one sense.
Public filings show Omnicom’s John Wren made $20.2 million in 2023. His total compensation, which includes salary, bonus, equity awards and other forms of financial remuneration, was 382 times more than the median pay of Omnicom’s 75,900 employees.
Interpublic’s Philippe Krakowsky made $14.4 million during the same period. The amount was 205 times larger than what an employee at the middle of the company’s pay scale earned last year.
Both earnings gaps were larger than typical. In 2023, the median CEO-to-worker pay ratio of chief executives who run S&P 500 companies was 194 to 1, according to executive intelligence firm Equilar.
Although the divide in compensation is wide, it’s bound to become even wider.
“Our data shows S&P 500 CEO pay is on the rise and, as a result, the ratio is following suit,” said Amit Batish, senior director of content and communications at Equilar.
Batish noted that comparing total income between executives and employees can be tricky, as companies tend to compensate CEOs with stock, while employees rely on salaries and bonuses. Nevertheless, he added, the growing divide is “likely to continue.”
Still, the CEO-to-worker pay ratio isn’t the same across all ad holding companies. On the lower end of the spectrum, Publicis chief executive Arthur Sadoun made 43 times more than the median employee in 2023.
S4 Capital’s Martin Sorrell, meanwhile, collected 6 times more. Although, as founder and chair of the board, Sorrell is also a substantial shareholder, owning around 9% of the company.
To see how much adtech CEOs made in 2023, click here.
By Paul Hiebert, Adweek
