AkzoNobel supervisory board chairman could be best paid in NL

A shareholders vote on Tuesday could give AkzoNobel the best paid of all the chairmen of supervisory boards at Dutch-run listed companies.

Antony Burgmans is set to become chairman of the supervisory board at the paints and chemicals company with a yearly salary increase of 30% to €130,000 and a bonus this year of €165,000, an increase of €100,000 on 2013, the Financieele Dagblad reports.

The payment is ‘out of all proportion,’ according to Errol Keyner of the Dutch shareholders’ association VEB.

‘It is right that supervisory board members should be better rewarded, but we must take care this does not escalate as it has with company directors. No matter how important it may be, being a supervisory board member is a part-time function,’ Keyner told the paper.

If the shareholders vote in favour, Burgmans will be the best paid supervisory board chairman at an AEX-listed company. But AkzoNobel is not the only listed company to increase supervisory board members’ salaries, the FD says.

Supermarket group Ahold and chip machinery maker ASML have also brought in large increases this year. Both companies point to the fact that the function has become more arduous. Ahold also points to ‘market developments’.

The average pay for a supervisory board member has doubled over the past ten years, the FD says.

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