Vienna Stock Exchange Board Members Earned More in 2025 – Compensation Study Shows Increase

Compared to the previous year, total compensation of board members has risen. The increase is particularly pronounced at those corporations that were already among the top earners on the Austrian stock market. The IVA study also points out that the range between individual companies remains large and has hardly changed since the last reporting period.

A closer look at the composition of salaries shows that the fixed portion continues to make up the bulk of compensation. However, the share of variable compensation has risen slightly: among the 36 companies that provided corresponding figures, this value increased from 43.2 to 44.8 percent. Variable compensation is usually tied to corporate targets such as profit, share price, or strategic metrics.

Composition of Compensation

When compared with DAX corporations in Germany, it becomes apparent that executive salaries in this country are indeed lower than those at the largest German listed companies, but the relative increase follows a similar pattern. The IVA study regularly draws on this cross-comparison to classify domestic compensation practices.

Comparison with Germany

The study criticizes above all the lack of transparency regarding the performance criteria that are decisive for variable compensation. Many companies publish only insufficient information about which concrete targets must be achieved in order for a board member to receive the full bonus. The IVA therefore calls for clearer and more comparable disclosure.

Transparency and Performance Criteria

The role of supervisory boards is also addressed in the study. These bodies decide on compensation systems and must review the appropriateness of pay. The IVA study recommends that supervisory boards should orient themselves more strongly toward long-term performance indicators rather than foregrounding short-term metrics.

For shareholders, the issue of board compensation is not merely a matter of corporate culture, but also has direct implications for corporate governance. Annual general meetings vote on compensation systems in some markets; in Austria, such a binding vote has so far not been mandatory.

Significance for Shareholders

Overall, the IVA compensation study paints a picture of a moderate but steady increase in executive pay. The industry is responding to rising demands for international competitiveness as well as to the growing shortage of skilled professionals in top positions.

The study is published annually in summer and is aimed at investors, business media, and the interested public. It is one of the few independent surveys on board compensation in Austria and is issued by the Industriewissenschaftliches Institut (IVA), which sees itself as the mouthpiece of private investors.

For the coming years, the IVA has announced that it will focus more strongly on sustainability and ESG criteria in board compensation. The institute is thereby responding to a Europe-wide debate in which environmental, social, and governance goals are increasingly finding their way into bonus systems.