Governing Director and Executive Rewards in Uncertain Times

On 29 June 2020, GUBERNA and Deloitte Directors Net organised a joint webinar on the topic “Governing Director and Executive Rewards in Uncertain Times”. This live session was the occasion to reflect on the adaptations to the remuneration policy of directors and executives in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sandra Gobert (Executive Director, GUBERNA) explained how the three roles of the board –  strategy, leadership and monitoring – can guide directors in their review of the remuneration policy. She emphasised that there is no “one size fits all” approach, but also that the tone at the top really matters.

Xavier Baeten (Partner and Professor, Vlerick Business School) shared some results of a survey held by GUBERNA among its members. He highlighted that pay cuts have become a common market practice during crisis times, either for treasury purposes or in the benefit of solidarity.

Finally, Sofie Van Breedam (Partner, Deloitte) stressed the need for balancing flexibility in the remuneration plans on the one hand, and compliance with corporate governance rules on the other hand. She underlined that short-term decisions can have long-term impacts. Therefore, it is important to provide perspective.