The companies which are most generous towards CEOs in the world as a whole come from the financial, information technology and energy sectors… The situation is no different in Turkey. Executives in...
The companies which are most generous towards CEOs in the world as a whole come from the financial, information technology and energy sectors… The situation is no different in Turkey. Executives in the financial sector come to the fore as the best paid executives in Turkey. CEOs in telecoms, pharmaceuticals and fast-moving consumer goods can earn salaries of up to TL 1 million. In parallel with global developments during the crisis period, CEOs and general managers in Turkey have suffered a decline of up to 25 percent in their total income. But experts believe that, despite this decline, when it comes to salaries, CEOs in Turkey do not lag beyond the rest of the world. Capital indentified the 50 CEOs in Turkey who make the most money and the sectors in which the highest salaries are paid.
In 2008 and 2009, the giant companies in many sectors froze or reduced their executives’ salaries. According to the salary survey conducted every year by the Wall Street Journal, in 2009 the salaries and bonuses of CEOs in the 200 largest companies in America fell by 8.5 percent.
The decline was sharper in Britain. According to a survey by PwC, one in six of the executives at the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) 100 companies did not receive any bonus at all. In total, executives’ bonuses fell by 20 percent. Half of the companies in the FTSE 350 froze their executives’ salaries.
Generous Sectors
Coming to the sectors with the highest executive salaries… In the world as a whole, the sectors which come to the fore in salaries are finance, information technology and energy. According to a study by the independent research company The Corporate Library, the highest-earning executive in the world is Stephen Schwarzman, the CEO of the financial services giant Blackstone. In 2008, Schwarzman’s total salary was $702.44 million. Oracle CEO Lawrence Ellison ranks second amongst those who earn the highest salary. In 2008, Ellison earned $557 million. Third in the list comes Ray Irani, the CEO of the energy company Occidental Petroleum. Irani ranks third in the list with $222.64 million. The rankings are believed to have been the same in 2009.
The sectors with the highest executive salaries in Turkey follow the same pattern as those in the world as a whole. The sectors which pay high level executives the most are led by finance, telecoms, pharmaceuticals, fast-moving consumer goods, logistics and information technology.
In the banking sector, high level executives earn an average of between TL 600,000 and TL 2,500,000, well ahead of all the other sectors in Turkey. In telecoms, where there has been intense competition in recent years, the average salary starts at around TL 900,000 and rises to TL 1.5 million at the giants of the sector. The fact-moving consumer goods sector is generous towards executives. The average salary here is between TL 400,000 and TL 1 million.
There are wide salary differences at the giant holdings in Turkey. Holding CEOs earn an average of between TL 600,000 and TL 1.5 million.
Who Earns The Most?
So which CEOs in Turkey earn the most money? In order to find the answer to this question, Capital spoke not only with many management and human resources’ experts but also executives in various sectors, and identified the 50 executives who earn the most in Turkey.
Most of the 50 highest-earning executives come from sectors which pay the highest salaries. The list includes six high level executives from banking, four from telecoms, five from pharmaceuticals, three from insurance and five from holdings.
Amongst the holdings, the highest earners are Doğuş Holding CEO Hüsnü Akhan, Koç Holding CEO Bülent Bulgurlu, Sabancı Holding CEO Ahmet Dördüncü, Borusan Holding CEO Agah Uğur and Eczacıbaşı Holding CEO Erdal Karamercan. The highest earners in the banking sector are Garanti Bankası General Manager Ergun Özen, Yapı Kredi Bankası General Manager Faik Açıkalın and İş Bankası General Manager Ersin Özince. But experts say that Özen leaves his rivals far behind here.
In the telecommunications sector, the salary leader is Turkcell CEO Süreyya Ciliv. Ciliv manages a turnover of TL 8.9 billion and is the highest earner in the sector. Ciliv is followed by Türk Telekom CEO Paul Doany and Vodafone CEO Serpil Timuray.
Nilüfer Gözütok
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Türkiye ve dünya ekonomisine yön veren gelişmeleri yorulmadan takip edebilmek için her yeni güne haber bültenimiz “Sabah Kahvesi” ile başlamak ister misiniz?