Australia’s Top-Paid ASX CEOs in 2025: Two Key Sectors and Global Footprints Drive Pay Growth

CEO pay surged in 2025, with mining executives dominating the top ranks as gold prices soared and critical mineral discoveries reshaped the ASX landscape. Developed in partnership with OpenDirector, our latest CEO Pay Survey reveals a 10% increase in average reported remuneration for the top 300 chief executives, reaching $3.86 million.

However, the gap between reported and realised pay widened significantly, driven by strong market performance and the vesting of long-term incentives. Featured in The Australian Financial Review, this exclusive report offers deep insights into CEO remuneration trends across ASX-listed companies. Read the AFR feature here.

Key Report Highlights

• Mining Sector Leads Growth
  Resource companies were the clear winners this year, benefiting from a 50% rise in gold prices and strategic acquisitions. Several executives recorded realised pay packages exceeding $10 million, driven by share price appreciation and option conversions linked to earlier incentive grants.

• Financial Services Maintains Strength
  The financial sector continued to feature prominently in reported pay rankings, with remuneration influenced by global benchmarks for ASX-listed companies operating internationally.

• Healthcare and Mining Show Largest Pay Gaps
  These sectors recorded the most significant divergence between statutory and realised remuneration, as long-term incentives vested at values far higher than originally granted.

• Global Footprint
  Pay packets of CEOs with US or globally focused operations tend to reflect global benchmarks, which are generally higher than in Australia.

Reported vs Realised Pay

Reported pay, disclosed in annual reports, includes salary and the accounting value of equity grants at the time of issue. Realised pay reflects actual earnings when options and shares vest, often years later. In a rising market, realised pay can exceed reported figures by millions, as seen in 2025.

Sector Trends

• Materials Sector Dominates: Five of the top 10 highest-paid CEOs came from the mining sector.
• Healthcare in Top Tier: Two leaders from healthcare featured prominently.
• Banks Absent: Despite being among the largest ASX-listed companies, the CEOs of major banks did not make the top 10.
  
  

Looking Ahead

With gold prices at multi-decade highs and critical minerals in demand, mining executives are likely to remain at the forefront of CEO pay rankings. However, scrutiny over remuneration structures and transparency around realised pay will intensify as boards navigate shareholder expectations.

Exclusive Feature: This report also includes an Odgers Observations commentary on the emerging remuneration trends and their implications for boards. 

__________________________________________________

Get in touch. For more insights on CEO remuneration trends, contact Toby Gardner. For more about our Board Practice, contact Caroline Dever, Tom Mutch.