FTSE 100 CEOs’ backgrounds, career paths and pay in numbers

Who’s in charge of the nation’s largest plcs? While the performance of the FTSE 100 is closely followed, details of its constituent CEOs can be harder to find.

To resolve this, Raconteur launched the CEO Index in 2023. Trawling through publicly available information on these corporate leaders, we were able to paint a more complete picture of the FTSE 100 CEOs, from their backgrounds to their soaring pay packets.

There has been much change since the first iteration of CEO Index last year. Eight companies have been promoted to the FTSE 100, including EasyJet, Darktrace and Marks & Spencer, which made its first return to the index since 2019. Elsewhere, 16 companies have changed leadership – most recently Burberry, which replaced outgoing CEO Jonathan Akeroyd with Joshua Schulman last week.

Three women have joined the ranks of the FTSE 100 bosses, BT’s Allison Kirkby, Darktrace’s Poppy Gustafsson and Diageo’s Debra Crew. However, Alison Rose of NatWest Group was forced to resign in July after she admitted to disclosing information about the closure of Nigel Farage’s Coutts bank account, taking the total number of female CEOs to 11.

CEO pay has also risen, as London Stock Exchange plc CEO Julia Hoggett has continued to push for higher executive pay rates in order to compete with the remuneration packages on offer at the largest US companies.

Explore more of what we discovered below. The data is correct as of 22 July 2024.

To create the CEO Index, Raconteur compiled dozens of data points on 97 FTSE 100 CEOs (excluding the leaders of three investment trusts with unusual corporate structures), drawing on publicly available sources such as corporate statements, government records and media reports.

Diversity

This year’s cohort of chief executives is slightly more diverse than the previous year, with two more women holding CEO positions and one LGBT+ chief executive, compared to none last year. However, this group of business leaders remains broadly unrepresentative when compared to the rest of the country.

Out of the 97 FTSE 100 CEOs,

eleven are women,

only 13 have come from a non-white European background,

only one has publicly come out as LGBT+,

and none have declared a disability.

How representative are these people of the UK today?

Each dot represents 1% of the population

women make up 51%,

18% are from an ethnic minority,

3.1% are LGB and 0.5% say their gender identity is different from their sex registered at birth.

Disabled people make up 18% of the population.

Is that an unfair comparison? We could look instead at another high-achieving group.

The nation’s 650 MPs have a similar age profile to top CEOs.

But 41% are women,

while just under 14% come from an ethnic minority background,

and 10% have described themselves as LGBT+.

Career

With regards to education, a degree remains an almost essential requirement to become a FTSE 100 CEO, with the majority having qualifications in business, economics or finance. But is it better to climb the corporate ladder within the same business or do FTSE boards seek people with outside experience when recruiting for the top position?

Divisional director

CEO

CFO

COO

Board Member

Other C-Suite

Regional director

Other finance

Entrepreneur

The route to the top might have started at a young age: at least 17% went to fee-paying schools, compared with 7% of British people.

Later, 37 attended one of the world’s top universities,

including 12 who studied at Oxford or Cambridge universities.

Almost half of the FTSE 100 CEOs hold a postgraduate degree

and 29 have an MBA

in total, 57% have a qualification in business, economics or finance.

Only three don’t have a bachelor’s degree,

Most FTSE 100 firms prefer loyal insiders as leaders: 64 were promoted from within the organisation

while 14 have worked at the same company all their careers.

The surest way to the top job? Managing a business line, division or subsidiary first,

while serving time as a CEO at another company is an equally valid apprenticeship.

Still, many don’t last long at the top:

16 of the current crop of CEOs were appointed during the last 12 months.

And two have announced they will be stepping down within the next year

Money

There has been much debate around executive reward recently with the London Stock Exchange and investment bank Schroders both arguing that UK CEOs could be better rewarded. How have the FTSE 100 CEOs fared this year and how do their pay rises compare to the average worker?

CEO turnover

FTSE 100 CEOs by total remuneration

1.9m

3.7m

5.6m

7.5m

9.4m

11.2m

13.1m

15.0m

16.9m

Total pay (£)

Michael Murray
Frasers Group
Total pay: £0

Octavio Alvídrez
Fresnillo
Total pay: £1.1m

Riad Mishlawi
Hikma Pharmaceuticals
Total pay: £1.2m

Johan Svanstrom
Rightmove
Total pay: £1.3m

Nathan Coe
Auto Trader Group
Total pay: £1.3m

Steve Foots
Croda International
Total pay: £1.3m

Louise Beardmore
United Utilities
Total pay: £1.4m

Régis Schultz
JD Sports Fashion
Total pay: £1.6m

Alex Russo
B&M European Value Retail
Total pay: £1.6m

Poppy Gustafsson
Darktrace
Total pay: £1.7m

David Thomas
Barratt Developments
Total pay: £1.8m

Milena Mondini de Focatiis
Admiral Group
Total pay: £2.1m

Jennie Daly
Taylor Wimpey
Total pay: £2.2m

Johan Lundgren
easyJet plc
Total pay: £2.2m

Dean Finch
Persimmon
Total pay: £2.3m

Marc Ronchetti
Halma
Total pay: £2.3m

Roy M. Twite
IMI plc
Total pay: £2.4m

Andrew Jones
LondonMetric Property
Total pay: £2.4m

Segun Ogunsanya
Airtel Africa
Total pay: £2.4m

Dominic Paul
Whitbread
Total pay: £2.5m

Stuart Machin
Marks & Spencer Group plc
Total pay: £2.5m

Jon Stanton
Weir Group
Total pay: £2.6m

Andrew Livingston
Howden Joinery Group Plc
Total pay: £2.6m

Andrea Rossi
M&G
Total pay: £2.7m

David Sleath
Segro
Total pay: £2.9m

Mark Allan
Land Securities Group
Total pay: £2.9m

Andy Briggs
Phoenix Group Holdings
Total pay: £2.9m

Roland Carter
Smiths Group
Total pay: £2.9m

Luis Gallego
IAG
Total pay: £3.1m

Donal Murphy
DCC
Total pay: £3.1m

Greg Fitzgerald
Vistry Group
Total pay: £3.2m

Liv Garfield
Severn Trent
Total pay: £3.2m

Andrew King
Mondi
Total pay: £3.2m

Nimesh Patel
Spirax-Sarco Engineering
Total pay: £3.2m

Andy Ransom
Rentokil Initial
Total pay: £3.3m

Alistair Phillips-Davies
SSE
Total pay: £3.5m

Duncan Wanblad
Anglo American
Total pay: £3.6m

Kris Licht
Reckitt Benckiser Group
Total pay: £3.6m

Adrian Cox
Beazley
Total pay: £3.6m

Deepak Nath
Smith & Nephew
Total pay: £3.7m

Hein Schumacher
Unilever
Total pay: £3.7m

Charlie Nunn
Lloyds Banking Group
Total pay: £3.7m

Elie Maalouf
Intercontinental Hotels Group
Total pay: £3.9m

Stephen Hare
Sage
Total pay: £4.0m

George Weston
Associated British Foods
Total pay: £4.1m

Johnny Thomson
Diploma plc
Total pay: £4.1m

Miles Roberts
Smith (DS)
Total pay: £4.2m

Stephen Carter
Informa
Total pay: £4.2m

Karim Bitar
Convatec Group
Total pay: £4.3m

Margherita Della Valle
Vodafone Group
Total pay: £4.4m

Mark Read
WPP
Total pay: £4.5m

Simon Wolfson
Next
Total pay: £4.5m

Tadeu Luiz Marroco
British American Tobacco
Total pay: £4.6m

C S Venkatakrishnan
Barclays
Total pay: £4.6m

Iván Arriagada
Antofagasta
Total pay: £4.8m

Simon Roberts
Sainsbury's
Total pay: £4.9m

Thierry Garnier
Kingfisher
Total pay: £5.1m

André Lacroix
Intertek Group
Total pay: £5.1m

Zoran Bogdanović
Coca-Cola HBC
Total pay: £5.1m

David Schwimmer
London Stock Exchange Group
Total pay: £5.1m

Brian McNamara
Haleon
Total pay: £5.8m

Gary Nagle
Glencore
Total pay: £5.8m

Peter Harrison
Schroders
Total pay: £6.2m

Frank van Zanten
Bunzl
Total pay: £6.3m

Benoit Durteste
Intermediate Capital Group plc
Total pay: £6.3m

John Pettigrew
National Grid
Total pay: £6.4m

Brendan Horgan
Ashtead Group
Total pay: £6.4m

Amanda Blanc
Aviva
Total pay: £6.6m

Dominic Blakemore
Compass Group
Total pay: £7.5m

Bill Winters
Standard Chartered
Total pay: £7.8m

Wael Sawan
Shell
Total pay: £7.9m

Murray Auchincloss
BP
Total pay: £8.0m

Rob Perrins
Berkeley Group Holdings
Total pay: £8.0m

Chris O'Shea
Centrica
Total pay: £8.2m

Simon Borrows
3i Group
Total pay: £8.3m

Jakob Stausholm
Rio Tinto
Total pay: £8.4m

Stefan Bomhard
Imperial Brands
Total pay: £8.6m

Anil Wadhwani
Prudential
Total pay: £9.7m

Ken Murphy
Tesco
Total pay: £9.9m

Brian Cassin
Experian
Total pay: £9.9m

Noel Quinn
HSBC
Total pay: £10.6m

Emma Walmsley
GSK
Total pay: £12.7m

Charles Woodburn
BAE Systems
Total pay: £13.5m

Tufan Erginbilgic
Rolls-Royce Holdings
Total pay: £13.6m

Erik Engstrom
Relx
Total pay: £13.6m

Andy Bird
Pearson
Total pay: £14.0m

Pascal Soriot
Astrazeneca
Total pay: £16.9m

Financial year-end 2023 or most recent available

CEO pay gaps

Female

Male

£4,975,852

£4,281,822

Difference £25,079

Difference 75

Difference £768,439

£5,000,931

£5,050,261

FTSE 100 CEO pay by market cap

4.2m

8.4m

12.6m

16.9m

0.03%

0.06%

0.09%

0.12%

0.15%

0.17%

0.20%

Octavio Alvídrez
Fresnillo
Market cap: £4.6b
Total pay: £1.1m

Riad Mishlawi
Hikma Pharmaceuticals
Market cap: £4.2b
Total pay: £1.2m

Johan Svanstrom
Rightmove
Market cap: £4.5b
Total pay: £1.3m

Nathan Coe
Auto Trader Group
Market cap: £7.2b
Total pay: £1.3m

Steve Foots
Croda International
Market cap: £5.8b
Total pay: £1.3m

Louise Beardmore
United Utilities
Market cap: £7.1b
Total pay: £1.4m

Régis Schultz
JD Sports Fashion
Market cap: £6.3b
Total pay: £1.6m

Alex Russo
B&M European Value Retail
Market cap: £4.7b
Total pay: £1.6m

Poppy Gustafsson
Darktrace
Market cap: £4.1b
Total pay: £1.7m

David Thomas
Barratt Developments
Market cap: £4.9b
Total pay: £1.8m

Milena Mondini de Focatiis
Admiral Group
Market cap: £8.1b
Total pay: £2.1m

Jennie Daly
Taylor Wimpey
Market cap: £5.5b
Total pay: £2.2m

Johan Lundgren
easyJet plc
Market cap: £3.3b
Total pay: £2.2m

Dean Finch
Persimmon
Market cap: £4.9b
Total pay: £2.3m

Marc Ronchetti
Halma
Market cap: £10.0b
Total pay: £2.3m

Roy M. Twite
IMI plc
Market cap: £4.9b
Total pay: £2.4m

Andrew Jones
LondonMetric Property
Market cap: £4.1b
Total pay: £2.4m

Segun Ogunsanya
Airtel Africa
Market cap: £4.4b
Total pay: £2.4m

Dominic Paul
Whitbread
Market cap: £5.2b
Total pay: £2.5m

Stuart Machin
Marks & Spencer Group plc
Market cap: £6.4b
Total pay: £2.5m

Jon Stanton
Weir Group
Market cap: £5.1b
Total pay: £2.6m

Andrew Livingston
Howden Joinery Group Plc
Market cap: £5.0b
Total pay: £2.6m

Andrea Rossi
M&G
Market cap: £5.0b
Total pay: £2.7m

David Sleath
Segro
Market cap: £12.7b
Total pay: £2.9m

Mark Allan
Land Securities Group
Market cap: £4.8b
Total pay: £2.9m

Andy Briggs
Phoenix Group Holdings
Market cap: £5.5b
Total pay: £2.9m

Roland Carter
Smiths Group
Market cap: £6.0b
Total pay: £2.9m

Luis Gallego
IAG
Market cap: £8.2b
Total pay: £3.1m

Donal Murphy
DCC
Market cap: £5.4b
Total pay: £3.1m

Greg Fitzgerald
Vistry Group
Market cap: £4.5b
Total pay: £3.2m

Liv Garfield
Severn Trent
Market cap: £7.7b
Total pay: £3.2m

Andrew King
Mondi
Market cap: £7.0b
Total pay: £3.2m

Nimesh Patel
Spirax-Sarco Engineering
Market cap: £6.8b
Total pay: £3.2m

Andy Ransom
Rentokil Initial
Market cap: £12.5b
Total pay: £3.3m

Alistair Phillips-Davies
SSE
Market cap: £20.5b
Total pay: £3.5m

Duncan Wanblad
Anglo American
Market cap: £30.4b
Total pay: £3.6m

Kris Licht
Reckitt Benckiser Group
Market cap: £40.2b
Total pay: £3.6m

Adrian Cox
Beazley
Market cap: £4.4b
Total pay: £3.6m

Deepak Nath
Smith & Nephew
Market cap: £12.5b
Total pay: £3.7m

Hein Schumacher
Unilever
Market cap: £145.5b
Total pay: £3.7m

Charlie Nunn
Lloyds Banking Group
Market cap: £36.9b
Total pay: £3.7m

Elie Maalouf
Intercontinental Hotels Group
Market cap: £12.9b
Total pay: £3.9m

Stephen Hare
Sage
Market cap: £10.5b
Total pay: £4.0m

George Weston
Associated British Foods
Market cap: £18.6b
Total pay: £4.1m

Johnny Thomson
Diploma plc
Market cap: £5.7b
Total pay: £4.1m

Miles Roberts
Smith (DS)
Market cap: £6.2b
Total pay: £4.2m

Stephen Carter
Informa
Market cap: £11.3b
Total pay: £4.2m

Karim Bitar
Convatec Group
Market cap: £5.3b
Total pay: £4.3m

Margherita Della Valle
Vodafone Group
Market cap: £18.8b
Total pay: £4.4m

Mark Read
WPP
Market cap: £8.1b
Total pay: £4.5m

Simon Wolfson
Next
Market cap: £11.2b
Total pay: £4.5m

Tadeu Luiz Marroco
British American Tobacco
Market cap: £57.4b
Total pay: £4.6m

C S Venkatakrishnan
Barclays
Market cap: £34.0b
Total pay: £4.6m

Iván Arriagada
Antofagasta
Market cap: £18.8b
Total pay: £4.8m

Simon Roberts
Sainsbury's
Market cap: £6.4b
Total pay: £4.9m

Thierry Garnier
Kingfisher
Market cap: £5.1b
Total pay: £5.1m

André Lacroix
Intertek Group
Market cap: £7.7b
Total pay: £5.1m

Zoran Bogdanović
Coca-Cola HBC
Market cap: £10.2b
Total pay: £5.1m

David Schwimmer
London Stock Exchange Group
Market cap: £50.3b
Total pay: £5.1m

Brian McNamara
Haleon
Market cap: £31.2b
Total pay: £5.8m

Gary Nagle
Glencore
Market cap: £55.5b
Total pay: £5.8m

Peter Harrison
Schroders
Market cap: £6.4b
Total pay: £6.2m

Frank van Zanten
Bunzl
Market cap: £11.0b
Total pay: £6.3m

Benoit Durteste
Intermediate Capital Group plc
Market cap: £6.4b
Total pay: £6.3m

John Pettigrew
National Grid
Market cap: £46.0b
Total pay: £6.4m

Brendan Horgan
Ashtead Group
Market cap: £24.0b
Total pay: £6.4m

Amanda Blanc
Aviva
Market cap: £13.3b
Total pay: £6.6m

Dominic Blakemore
Compass Group
Market cap: £37.3b
Total pay: £7.5m

Bill Winters
Standard Chartered
Market cap: £18.9b
Total pay: £7.8m

Wael Sawan
Shell
Market cap: £180.0b
Total pay: £7.9m

Murray Auchincloss
BP
Market cap: £98.1b
Total pay: £8.0m

Rob Perrins
Berkeley Group Holdings
Market cap: £5.2b
Total pay: £8.0m

Chris O'Shea
Centrica
Market cap: £7.4b
Total pay: £8.2m

Simon Borrows
3i Group
Market cap: £29.9b
Total pay: £8.3m

Jakob Stausholm
Rio Tinto
Market cap: £85.4b
Total pay: £8.4m

Stefan Bomhard
Imperial Brands
Market cap: £18.1b
Total pay: £8.6m

Anil Wadhwani
Prudential
Market cap: £19.8b
Total pay: £9.7m

Ken Murphy
Tesco
Market cap: £22.5b
Total pay: £9.9m

Brian Cassin
Experian
Market cap: £32.8b
Total pay: £9.9m

Noel Quinn
HSBC
Market cap: £124.4b
Total pay: £10.6m

Emma Walmsley
GSK
Market cap: £63.6b
Total pay: £12.7m

Charles Woodburn
BAE Systems
Market cap: £38.8b
Total pay: £13.5m

Tufan Erginbilgic
Rolls-Royce Holdings
Market cap: £36.8b
Total pay: £13.6m

Erik Engstrom
Relx
Market cap: £84.2b
Total pay: £13.6m

Andy Bird
Pearson
Market cap: £6.9b
Total pay: £14.0m

Pascal Soriot
Astrazeneca
Market cap: £190.8b
Total pay: £16.9m

Financial year-end 2022 or most recent available

CEO pay rises

CEOs who had a pay rise

CEOs who had a pay cut

£20m

£15m

£10m

£5m

3i Group
+18.54%

Admiral Group
-4.31%

Airtel Africa
+52.09%

Anglo American
+11.56%

Antofagasta
+19.91%

Ashtead Group
-4.41%

Associated British Foods
+44.24%

Astrazeneca
+9.08%

Auto Trader Group
-34.74%

Aviva
+16.67%

BAE Systems
+20.50%

Barclays
-11.98%

Barratt Developments
-65.32%

Beazley
+58.61%

BP
-24.79%

British American Tobacco
-109.61%

Bunzl
+28.18%

Centrica
+45.45%

Coca-Cola HBC
+28.48%

Compass Group
+55.98%

Convatec Group
-1.81%

Croda International
-205.17%

DCC
-6.22%

Experian
+0.01%

Fresnillo
+31.77%

Glencore
+16.14%

GSK
+33.54%

Haleon
+59.22%

HSBC
+47.74%

Imperial Brands
+33.65%

Informa
+35.83%

Intercontinental Hotels Group
-5.79%

Intertek Group
+41.22%

IAG
+16.06%

Kingfisher
+61.79%

Land Securities Group
+31.03%

Lloyds Banking Group
-2.34%

London Stock Exchange Group
+7.51%

M&G
+82.37%

Mondi
-31.53%

National Grid
-2.41%

Next
+3.08%

Pearson
+51.30%

Persimmon
+4.86%

Phoenix Group Holdings
-5.41%

Reckitt Benckiser Group
+41.49%

Relx
+39.78%

Rentokil Initial
-5.71%

Rio Tinto
+43.10%

Schroders
+24.14%

Segro
-34.06%

Severn Trent
-21.94%

Smith & Nephew
-31.34%

Smith (DS)
+38.42%

Smiths Group
+37.53%

Spirax-Sarco Engineering
-2.63%

SSE
-27.23%

Standard Chartered
+30.04%

Taylor Wimpey
+26.68%

Tesco
+52.19%

Unilever
-29.16%

Weir Group
+2.08%

WPP
-48.55%

Financial year-end 2023 or most recent available

CEO pay ratios

Companies where pay gap is widening

Companies where pay gap is closing

500

400

300

200

100

Admiral Group
-5

Anglo American
-37

Ashtead Group
+8

Associated British Foods
+62

Astrazeneca
+23

Auto Trader Group
-8

Aviva
+18

BAE Systems
+27

Barclays
-18

Barratt Developments
-31

Beazley
+13

Berkeley Group Holdings
+14

BP
-69

British American Tobacco
-62

BT Group
-9

Bunzl
+50

Burberry Group
-134

Centrica
+65

Coca-Cola HBC
+7

Compass Group
+174

Convatec Group
-18

Croda International
-54

DCC
-1

Diageo
+56

Entain
-9

Experian
-17

Glencore
-58

GSK
+46

Haleon
+17

Hargreaves Lansdown
-13

HSBC
+74

Imperial Brands
+32

Informa
+20

Intercontinental Hotels Group
+27

Intertek Group
+38

IAG
+5

Kingfisher
+128

Land Securities Group
+7

Legal & General Group
-19

Lloyds Banking Group
-6

London Stock Exchange Group
+6

Melrose Industries
-4

Mondi
-13

National Grid
-15

Natwest Group
-55

Next
+89

Pearson
+29

Persimmon
-5

Phoenix Group Holdings
-15

Reckitt Benckiser Group
+38

Relx
+69

Rentokil Initial
+2

Rio Tinto
+45

Schroders
+13

Segro
-11

Severn Trent
-17

Smith & Nephew
-35

Smith (DS)
+13

Smiths Group
+53

SSE
-37

Standard Chartered
+124

Taylor Wimpey
+1

Tesco
+207

Unilever
+6

Unite Group
+21

Weir Group
+4

WPP
-48

Financial year-end 2023 or most recent available

The first quarter of 2024 has seen the highest number of incoming CEOs to the FTSE 100 in years.

But despite increased CEO turnover, pay for chief executives remains high.

In 2022, FTSE 100 CEOs earned an average of £4.3m (excluding income besides their main job).

Last year, this figure increased to £5m.

Astrazeneca boss Pascal Soriot retains his title as the highest-paid CEO on the FTSE 100.

He took home £16.9m in total pay – a 9% increase on his previous pay packet.

Meanwhile, Fraser Group’s Michael Murray was the lowest paid.

He opted to waive his salary last year, with the promise of a £100m bonus, if the business hits certain targets.

Pay gaps remain an issue, even at the very top.

The average female FTSE 100 boss earned £768,000 less than their male counterpart last year.

However, on average, this group of CEOs were paid roughly the same, regardless of their ethnic background.

It is generally considered that, the more successful the company, the more pay the CEO should receive.

But this is not always the case.

Pearson CEO Andy Bird is the second highest-paid CEO on this year’s list.

However, he oversees a company that is roughly half the market value of Astrazeneca.

Healthcare bosses were once again the highest paid, on average, at £8.2m.

In comparison, utilities companies were relatively restrained. They were paid an average of £2.3m.

Several CEOs received bumper pay rises this financial year.

M&G CEO Andrea Rossi saw his total pay increase by 82%, mostly due to hitting performance-related targets

However, others received hefty pay cuts.

Croda International CEO Steve Foots saw his total compensation drop by more than 200% after he did not receive a bonus this year.

BAT’s CEO was paid less than half of his predecessor.

Despite the ups and downs, FTSE 100 CEOs received an average increase in total pay of 9%.

Annual growth in average employee earnings, including bonuses, was 5.7%.

This has led to a widening of the pay gap between CEOs and their employees.

On average, FTSE 100 CEOs are paid 98 times the median worker.

Tesco was the company with the largest disparity, with its CEO being awarded 431 times the pay of its median staff member.

See how you compare to the average FTSE 100 CEO using our calculator tool or explore the the key facts and figures about the UK’s top CEOs here.

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