Our performance has been so bad that we must pay our executives more. If this corporate pitch for an increase in top-level rewards strikes you as laughably unconvincing, you’d be surprised.
At Smith & Nephew, the FTSE 100 medical devices group whose shares were touching £20 in 2019 but are now £10, 57% of votes on Wednesday were cast in favour of the new remuneration scheme. The rebellion was large, but ultimately the company won. Instead of chasing a potential $9.5m (£7.6m) a year – he actually got $4.7m last time – the chief executive, Deepak Nath, can now shoot for $11.8m.
