Thanks to a record year for Stellantis, Carlos Tavares’ compensation package increased by 56% from 2022
April 25, 2024 at 10:03
General Motors CEO Mary Barra earned a whopping $27.8 million in 2023, but that wasn’t enough to retain the title as the highest-paid automotive executive in Detroit. Instead, Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares took the top spot with $39.491 million.
Barra was long the city’s highest-paid automotive executive, but her total compensation fell due to a 4% cut in her bonus payout from $28.97 million in 2022. She maintained the same base salary of $2.1 million as in the two years prior and also received an incentive-based bonus of $5.25 million. She also received stock options worth $14.62 million.
Read: Stellantis boss rejected Chinese offer to buy one of his French brands
A key reason Barra’s total compensation package decreased slightly in 2023 is that her compensation has been tied to meeting electric vehicle targets since 2022. The automaker has struggled to meet some of these goals as the overall electric vehicle market slowed.
While GM’s boss saw her compensation drop, the same cannot be said about Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares. According to the Detroit News, his total compensation increased 56% to $39.491 million from 2022. While that’s a staggering sum, Stellantis posted a record net profit of $20 billion in 2023, up 11% from 2022, largely due to higher prices for its vehicles in foreign markets.
Earlier this month, Stellantis shareholders voted 70% in favor of Tavares’ record-breaking pay package in a non-binding vote, despite requests from some consulting firms to vote against it. New for 2023 was an incentive worth 10 million euros ($10.7 million) tied to the achievement of electrification and software targets across the Stellantis Group.
Ford CEO Jim Farley also earned a significant sum in 2023, nearly $26.5 million, including a base salary of $1.7 million and valuable stock awards worth $20.3 million . His total compensation was 312 times the average annual total compensation of all Ford employees in 2023.
