Over his 15-year tenure as Nedbank Group CEO, banking executive Mike Brown earned just shy of R515 million\u2014averaging out to around R94,000 a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brown retired in May 2024 after serving as Nedbank’s CEO since 2010, succeeded by former Absa Finance Director, Jason Quinn, in June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nedbank credited Brown with turning the group into a digital banking powerhouse, creating significant shareholder value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brown captained the ship during a period of intense upheaval, with the South African economy severely hurt by state capture, poor public governance, load shedding, and the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His strong leadership was honoured with the Sunday Times Business Leader of the Year award in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Outside of his Nedbank activities, Brown served as the Deputy Chairman of Business Leadership SA and was the former Chairman of the Banking Association of South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAfter 6 years as CFO and then 14 years as CEO of Nedbank Group, I look back with pride on our achievements and the challenges we have overcome together,” said Brown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI leave behind a Nedbank that is stronger, more competitive, more agile, and more digital than when I was first appointed as CEO.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a market cap of R120 billion, Nedbank is one of the biggest banks in South Africa and is part of the Big Four alongside Standard Bank, FirstRand and Absa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With Nedbank’s financial heft, Brown’s remuneration over the last 15 years has been handsome, with the CEO earning R500 million during his time in charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The CEO’s pay rose from R12 million in 2010 to R92 million in 2024. He also received over R37 million in his four months as CEO in 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Brown was not the only group executive to receive a large payout, even if several other executives saw their total earned remuneration drop over the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unlike traditional remuneration packages, which are primarily composed of a standard salary, large parts of senior executive pay are linked to short-term and long-term incentives, such as bonuses based on the company’s performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Due to these differences, executive pay packages can fluctuate aggressively, as is the case for several Nedbank executives who saw some big drops in total pay year-on-year in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Group COO Mfundo Nkuhlu’s package dropped 41.9% to R37 million, while Group CFO Mike Davis also saw a 41.6% drop to R35 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Group Managing Executive for Nedbank Wealth, Iolanda Ruggiero, saw her pay drop by 63% to R15 million, while retail and business banking head Ciko Thomas saw a 40% drop to R32 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Corporate and Investment Banking CEO An\u00e9l Bosman saw her pay drop by 28% to R39 million, while Terence Sibiya, head of Africa Regions, saw his pay decline by 30% to R25 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite receiving only R27 million in remuneration for 2024, new CEO Jason Quinn received over R80 million in long-term incentives, which will be paid in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\nYear<\/th> Mike Brown Compensation<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> 2010<\/td> R12 459 000<\/td><\/tr> 2011<\/td> R26 137 000<\/td><\/tr> 2012<\/td> R28 747 000<\/td><\/tr> 2013<\/td> R32 532 000<\/td><\/tr> 2014<\/td> R35 050 000<\/td><\/tr> 2015<\/td> R22 925 000<\/td><\/tr> 2016<\/td> R22 281 000<\/td><\/tr> 2017<\/td> R37 605 000<\/td><\/tr> 2018<\/td> R53 008 000<\/td><\/tr> 2019<\/td> R33 684 000<\/td><\/tr> 2020<\/td> R20 281 000<\/td><\/tr> 2021<\/td> R26 543 000<\/td><\/tr> 2022<\/td> R33 466 000<\/td><\/tr> 2023<\/td> R92 500 000<\/td><\/tr> 2024<\/td> R37 309 000<\/td><\/tr> Total<\/strong><\/td> R514 527 000<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Total executive pay <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n