The average pay package of a CEO at a top Dutch stock-exchange listed company fell 21% to €2.5m last year, according to research by the Volkskrant.

The research covers 23 of the 25 companies on the blue-chip AEX index. Only Bam and Boskalis have yet to publish their annual reports with details of executive remuneration packages for last year.
Of the 23 CEO’s studied, 19 had a pay cut in 2009. Four had a pay rise (ASML, Heineken, Aegon and Corio).
The biggest earner was KPN CEO Ad Scheepbouwer, who earned €7.3m in fixed salary and bonuses. Second on the list was Nancy McKinstry of electronic publishers Wolters Kluwer whose total package amounted to €4.2m.
Biggest loser was Shell’s new CEO Peter Voser, whose salary and bonus package was €3.1m, a 64% cut on his predecessor Jeroen van der Veer. Shell is currently reforming its remuneration policy for senior staff.