U.S.-Style Pay Packages Are All the Rage in Europe
By GERALDINE FABRIKANT
Along with hip-hop and Hollywood movies, Europeans are eagerly importing another American phenomenon: soaring pay packages for chief executives.
For decades, Europeans were far more restrained than Americans when it came to rewarding the boss. Now, executives overseas are less inhibited about asking for American-style compensation. And often they are getting their wish. ...
"Here in France, greed has been legalized," said Pierre-Henri LeRoy, who heads the French advisory firm Proxinvest. "Executives compare themselves to the market in the U.S., not India, when they plan their compensation."
Compensation experts say the changes have been striking. "This is the first time I've seen this [trans-Atlantic pay] gap closing in 30 years, and it is closing quite a lot," said John Viney, founding partner of the Zygos Partnership, a London-based executive search firm. ...
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