Remuneration rises for CEOs and CFOs across JSE Top 200 – PwC

TOTAL remuneration for executive directors increased over the past year, with chief exectives (CEOs) and chief financial officers (CFOs) seeing median increases of 8% and 19%, respectively, according to PwC’s 2025 Directors Remuneration and Trends report that looked at the executive pay across JSE Top 200.

- PHILIPPA LARKIN

Despite macroeconomic pressure and heightened scrutiny of executive pay, shareholders continue to back remuneration practices. PwC’s 2025 Directors Remuneration and Trends report reveals that executive director pay has rebounded over the past year, with increases outpacing inflation and drawing renewed attention to fairness, transparency, and alignment with performance.

Makhosazana Mabaso, PwC’s reward partner, said, “These results contrast sharply with trends observed in 2024, where variable pay outcomes had decreased. The return to stronger performance-linked remuneration suggests a shift in market conditions, as well as a growing international influence on local executive pay practices.”