Overview
- The DSW/TU München study released on Thursday, August 13, 2026, finds average pay for DAX board members rose about 4% to roughly €3.9 million for 2025 while CEOs averaged €6.137 million.
- Two chiefs breached a suggested €10 million reference: SAP’s Christian Klein at about €10.9 million and Deutsche Bank’s Christian Sewing at about €10.5 million, with large shares of each package tied to variable bonuses.
- The study shows pay is heavily performance-linked and many companies exceeded their targets in 2025, with 27 of 40 firms reporting goal attainment above 100 percent, raising questions about target calibration.
- Pay inequality within firms is stark: average DAX board pay was about 42 times median employee pay, with extremes such as Adidas (106x), Volkswagen (75x) and Fresenius (70x) reported.
- The report also notes broader context and risks: DAX CEO pay remains below many European and US peers, sustainability metrics are now common in pay plans, and explicit, measurable AI targets appear in very few remuneration systems.