Galery

1

Greek managers of medium-sized companies with a turnover of between € 150-500 million and a staff of between 200 and 800 people appear to be among the best paid in the world, showed the analysis of Towers Watson. According to data the survey presented, the estimated average income of CEOs in the private sector in Greece is around € 237,000 per year, this volume ranking the country among the first five of best-paid managers in the world.

The survey was conducted in the U.S. and Europe (France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain) and Turkey. Gross annual salaries of general managers, financial managers and sales managers were taken into consideration. 20,000 companies in the U.S. and around 25,000 EU companies took part in the poll. 75% from the surveyed companies operate in the industrial sector and the remaining 25% belong to the wider services sector. Greek managers with an annual salary of about € 237,000 on average are worthy rival of their German colleagues who receive an average of € 242,000. French businessmen of the same occupation have an annual income of around € 241,000, while the Italians are the most well paid with € 251,000. Turkish companies of the same size also pay good salaries to their executive managers as their average size is about € 236,000  while their Spanish counterparts in the same group receive about € 210,000 annually.

The survey of Towers Watson ranks the average annual income of Spanish executives the last, even after Greece. This can not but make an impression, knowing that for every euro of production Spain earns 50 euro cents while Greece itself borrows 30 euro cents. In times of crisis, low competitiveness and fiscal consolidation, the Balkan country still holds the championship in the size of wages in both the private and public sectors. The situation with financial managers is the same - the Spaniards receive gross about € 106,000 while their Greek counterparts are paid € 125,000. Turkish financial managers are somewhere in the middle with € 122,000 annual salary and the Germans have kept the league with an income equal to € 135,000. As for the commercial managers, Germany holds the league again with an average annual salary of € 145,000, immediately after it is Italy with € 123,000, followed by Greece with € 121,000 and France with € 119,000. The average estimated annual payment of the Spanish commercial director is the lowest - about € 104,000 and their Turkish colleagues receive four thousand euros and their annual income pins at € 108,000.

Towers Watson’s General Manager William Zeler said the main problem of Greek business executives is the age limit, which is quite large. He explained that the people on managerial positions in Greek companies are well paid compared with their colleagues in the European Union and the USA. The biggest drawback of the Greek managers, however, is the age limit that is too high for the positions they occupy, said the analyst. The average age of the general managers of Greek medium-sized companies, like those studied, is about 50 years. The small volume of local market does not allow the people of that rank to develop at a greater degree because the companies of this scale are few. So, these posts turn out to be the peak of their career, added William Zeler.