Among companies on the Stockholm Stock Exchange’s Large Cap list, board fees are proposed to rise by an average of 9.1% for chairs and 8.4% for board members. This would bring the median annual fee to SEK 2 200 000 for chairs and SEK 700 000 for members.

“This year’s data shows the highest increase in board fees for both chairs and members since we began our measurements in 2007,” says Erika Andersson, at Allshares.

Since 2007, remuneration for executive management has increased by an average of 21.1% more than board fees.

“Board compensation has not kept pace with that of CEOs and senior executives, even as expectations and demands on board members have grown. We’ve seen a restrained development for several years,” Andersson continues.

“Despite the strong growth in board fees this year, they still lag behind. Closing the gap with CEOs and executive management would require an annual increase of around 10% over the next four years. The same applies in an international context, where Sweden’s largest listed companies continue to trail behind in both board remuneration and board share ownership.”

CEO and Executive Compensation

The median total remuneration for a CEO in 2024 was SEK 7 106 000, representing a 5.5% increase compared with 2023 - based on identical individuals.

The median base salary was SEK 4 591 000, up 5.8% year-on-year for the same group of CEOs. This rate of increase exceeds the industry benchmark in effect during 2024 (April 2023 - March 2025), which corresponds to a 3.3% wage increase for 2024.

Both short- and long-term incentive programs continue to show a rising share of sustainability-linked (ESG) criteria, maintaining the same growth pace as in previous years. The number of incentive programs that include ESG measures has almost doubled in recent years:

• 37.2% of short-term programs now include ESG criteria
  
• 42.1% of long-term programs include ESG criteria
  

Board chair fees among identical companies increased by 6.8% between 2024 and 2025, while board member fees rose by 6.3%. The 2025 AGM decisions resulted in historically large fee increases, particularly among Large Cap companies.

The share of female CEOs has also increased - from 12.4% in 2024 to 14.0% in 2025. However, the median base salary for female CEOs remains 8.2% lower than that of their male counterparts, while total remuneration is 1.6% lower for women.

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Source: Allshares About Pay Report 2025

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