The central theme in our report this year is the role of the CEO, and we ask what factors companies should take into account when calibrating their philosophy towards CEO pay.

We also explore the role of the CEO in setting the remuneration strategy of the organisation. Closely tied to the role of the CEO is the need for proper succession planning and whether CEOs are satisfied that they can build a future-fit workforce – according to PwC's Talent trends 2019: Upskilling for a Digital World, 33% of South African CEOs are 'extremely concerned' about the availability of key skills.

From our recent discussions with institutional investors, it is clear that the depth of expertise required from remuneration committees to set and monitor performance conditions, and critically assesses the suitability of variable pay structures, remains lacking. Furthermore, a CEO who claims to be worth a king's ransom must be prepared to back up that claim by accepting a suitably challenging set of key performance indicators. 

Report by PwC