NEW YORK: As befits the helmsman of planet Earth's largest marketing services company, Omnicom Group chief executive officer John Wren topped the sector's remuneration league in 2007 with $10.4 million (€6.73m; £5.34m) in total compensation.
Based on recently filed proxy statements unearthed by Advertising Age magazine, second in line at the bank was Interpublic Group chairman/ceo Michael J Roth who took home $8.9m
While WPP Group ceo Sir Martin Sorrell collected a mere $7.05m in salary and benefits.
One step down the ladder, Omnicom's vp/chief financial officer Randall Weisenburger earned a comforting $8.1m in total compensation, almost doubling the rewards of his nearest cfo rival, Interpublic's Frank Mergenthaler.
But in terms of base salaries shorn of perks, the 2007 pecking order changes:
- Martin Sorrell (WPP) $2.0m
- Robert Lerwill (Aegis) $1.3m
- Maurice Lévy (Publicis) $1.2
- Michael J Roth (Interpublic) $1.13m
- John Wren (Omnicom) $1.0m
- Fernando Rodés Vilà (Havas) $0.98m
Marketing services bosses, it seems, fare slightly better than their opposite numbers in other business sectors when it comes to base salaries.
According to a study released last month by executive-compensation research firm Equilar, S&P 500 companies saw median ceo pay increase by 3%, from $1m to $1.03m, between 2006 and 2007.
However, when perks were included, the balance was redressed with S&P 500 ceo compensation averaging $8.8m.
"Ceo pay growth has slowed down a bit, linked to economic conditions," comments Equilar spokesman Alexander Cwirko-Godycki. "Bonuses were down almost across the board in most industries."
Data sourced from AdAge.com; additional content by WARC staff