The UK’s Average CEO
Meet Andrew, a visual representation of the average CEO.
At People Managing People, we analysed data of CEOs from the FTSE100. We found out their age, education background and salary, and even collected images of their appearances.
We aggregated this data and with the use of AI created a composite figure known as Andrew, who represents the average CEO.
Andrew, 55, is a Cambridge University Economics graduate with a private school education, he’s employed by a financial services company, where he earns an annual salary of £4,196,000.
We analysed data from CEOs of the FTSE100, below are the full findings from our research
Gender
There are more CEOs named Andrew and Simon than female CEOs.
There is a significant gender disparity among CEOs, with 88 males and only 11 females. Interestingly, there were more CEOs named Andrew and Simon (12) than there were female CEOs.
Salary
Female CEOs are paid 23.5% less than male CEOs.
The gender disparity extends beyond the number of female CEOs to their salaries. While the average salary for a male CEO was £4,270,000, female CEOs earned an average of £3,371,000, 23.5% less than their male counterparts.
The total average CEO salary is £4,196,000, which is 127 times more than the average UK of £33,000.
To put this into perspective, CEOs have to work 2.04 days to earn the UK’s average salary. This means that if they work a standard Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm work week, they’d earn the UK average salary by 9:21am on Wednesday.
The highest paid CEO is Pascal Soriot, the CEO of AstraZeneca, according recent annual company reports he was paid £15,323,000, while the lowest paid was Octavio Alvídrez, the CEO of mining company Fresnillo plc was paid £731,170.
Education
CEOs are 9.4 times more likely to have gone to private school vs the UK population.
In terms of education, 66% of CEOs were privately educated, which is nearly ten times more likely than the 7% private school attendance rate in the UK population
The most attended University by CEOs was Cambridge, with 8% attending, followed by Oxford, with 6% of CEOs having attended. In total 14% of CEOs went to Oxbridge universities.
CEOs were most likely to have studied economics, with 19% of CEOs solely studying the subject, or in combination with finance or accounting.
No higher education data could be found for three CEOs, suggesting they didn’t attend university or higher education.
They are Simon Roberts the CEO of Sainsburys, who appears to have worked his way up from store management positions at M&S and Boots, before being recruited to join Sainsburys. Jonathan Akeroyd the CEO of Burberry and Dean Finch, Persimmon plc CEO are the other other two.
Age
The average age of CEOs in the FTSE100 is 55.
With Justin Dowley the Chair of Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust being the most senior at the age of 68, and 34 year old Michael Murrary being the youngest, who is the CEO of Fraser Group, which is majority owned by his father-in-law, Mike Ashley.
Methodology
Data was collected in September 2023
‘Andrew’ AI image
'Andrew' was created by aggregating images of FTSE 100 company CEOs obtained from various sources such as their official websites and LinkedIn profile pictures. These images were then subjected to AI-based image synthesis techniques to generate 'Andrew,' representing the composite appearance of the average CEO.
Salary Data
The term 'Salary' refers to the comprehensive remuneration package received by a CEO, encompassing various components such as base salary, stock and shares, bonuses, and other associated benefits. These figures are sourced from the annual reports of companies
When analysing the remuneration of a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the following approach has been employed
- Predecessor's Salary — In cases where a newly appointed CEO has succeeded a predecessor, the salary information pertaining to the predecessor has been employed as a benchmark for CEO compensation analysis. This approach ensures consistency and comparability in evaluating CEO remuneration.
- Currency Conversion — For the purpose of uniformity and accurate reporting, salaries reported in currencies such as euros or dollars have been converted into British Pounds (GBP).
- Exclusion of Chairman's Salaries — Chairmen, totaling three individuals, typically receive compensation packages lower than that of the CEO. Consequently, the salaries of Chairmen have been intentionally omitted from the average salary calculation. This omission ensures that the calculated average remains a representative measure of compensation for non-chairman roles within the organisation.
- Special Case: Michael Murrary of Frasers Group — A noteworthy exception pertains to Michael Murrary of Frasers Group, who has voluntarily forgone his salary, resulting in a reported figure of £0. This unique scenario has been duly acknowledged, and Mr. Murrary's £0 salary has been excluded from the average salary calculation.
The Average CEO Salary
The average CEO salary was calculated by multiplying the salaries of CEOs (excluding the special cases mentioned above) and dividing by the number of CEOs.
Average CEO salary = Total Salaries ÷ Number of CEOs
£402,866,901 ÷ 96 = £4,196,530
The Average Male CEO Salary
Average Male CEO salary = Total Male Salaries ÷ Number of Male CEOs
£367,273,750 ÷ 86 = 4,270,625
The Average Female CEO Salary
Average Female CEO salary = Total Female Salaries ÷ Number of Female CEOs
£30,344,151 ÷ 9 CEOs = 3,371,572
Calculation of Average CEO Daily Pay
To determine the average daily pay for Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and its relation to the average UK salary, the following calculation was used:
The average CEO annual salary, calculated to be £4,196,000, was divided by 52 weeks to establish a weekly pay rate. This weekly pay rate was then further divided by 5 working days to derive the daily pay rate. The formula used for this calculation is as follows:
Average CEO Daily Pay = (Average CEO Annual Salary ÷ 52 weeks) ÷ 5 working days = £16,138
Calculation of CEOs Working Days Required to Earn Average UK Salary
To determine the number of days a CEO needs to work to earn the average median salary in the UK of £33,000 (source ONS), the following calculation was employed:
Number of days required = Average UK Salary ÷ Average CEO Daily Compensation
Number of days required = £33,000 ÷ £16,138 = 2.04 days.
Location
All CEOs are on the payroll for UK companies and does not include any CEOs that are hired remotely via an employer of record service.
Gender Data
There are more CEOs named Andrew and Simon (12) than female CEOs (11).
We observed a notable prevalence of CEOs with names such as Andrew and Simon, totaling 12 individuals, surpassing the count of female CEOs, which stood at 11. It is noteworthy that variations of the name Andrew, such as Andrea and André, were also included in our analysis.
Education Data
School
We acquired data pertaining to the school educational backgrounds of 41 out of the top 100 CEOs. Among these individuals, 27 received their education in private schools, while 14 attended state schools.
This data reveals that:
- 34% of the CEOs in our sample were educated in state schools
- 66% of the CEOs in our sample received their education in private schools
- CEOs are 9.4 times more likely to have gone to private school vs the UK population
To determine the relative likelihood of CEOs having received a private education in comparison to the broader UK population. We can make the following calculation
The proportion of CEOs who have a private education background is 66%
The proportion of the UK population who have a private education is 7% (according to Gov.uk data)
We then proceed to calculate the ratio:
Ratio = (Percentage of privately educated CEOs ÷ Percentage of privately educated individuals in the UK population)
Ratio = (66% ÷ 7%)
Subsequently, we perform the calculation:
Ratio = 66 ÷ 7 ≈ 9.4 (rounded to one decimal place)
This calculation reveals that individuals in our sector are approximately 9.4 times more likely to have attended a private school in comparison to the wider UK population.
University
University data was collected through desk research, collecting information from company websites, LinkedIn, and interviews with CEOs on publications.
Age
Age was established from date of birth information published on Companies House.
While the average CEO salary in the UK is a topic of much discussion, what often goes unnoticed is the backend work required to manage these payments. Compare top-rated payroll software to find the one that best suits your organization's needs.
Full data is available on request, please contact finn@peoplemanagingpeople.com.
View our equivalent version of this study covering the US in our research titled America's Average CEO.
Interested in hiring staff in the UK but don't know where to start? Our list of the best employer of record in the UK is a good place to start.