The Philadelphia area's highest-paid CEOs
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Compensation for CEOs reached new heights last year across the country, including in the Philly area.
The big picture: Of the Philadelphia region's 12 largest publicly traded companies, all but one of their CEOs received pay increases in 2023, per U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Those ranged from 4.6% to 52.5%.
- John Zillmer, who leads food service giant Aramark, was the lone outlier whose pay dipped last year. He made 4.5% less than he did in 2022.
- William Sibold became CEO of biopharmaceutical company Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in September 2023, and didn't have a 2022 salary to compare.
State of play: Philly-area CEOs were paid handsomely, with their average total compensation coming in at $18.2 million.
- Much of their compensation came in the form of stock and option grants, which are tied to a company's performance on Wall Street.
Case in point: Sibold of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals had the most lucrative stock and options package ($31.2 million), but one of the lowest base salaries.
- Seifollah Ghasemi, CEO of Air Products and Chemicals, one of the country's leading industrial gas companies, was second with about $17 million in stock and options.
Zoom in: Comcast CEO Brian Roberts ended last year, when the company sold its remaining stake in Hulu, as the highest-paid chief exec in the region — again.
- Roberts had an annual salary jump of about 10%, with more than 40% of his $35.5 million compensation coming from stock and options.
Tim Donahue of Crown Holdings, a beverage packaging company based in Yardley, was the lowest-paid CEO, but received a 28% pay bump from 2022.
- Radian Group's Richard Thornberry had the highest boost in overall compensation, at 52%.
Flashback: Only half of the CEOs we analyzed in 2022 saw their compensation rise, though some of the increases were much bigger.
What we're watching: Huge disparities in the ratio of CEO-to-average-worker pay remained a consistent theme, with all except one firm posting ratios far exceeding 100:1, including one topping 1,100:1.