- Eight major Swiss company CEOs received a salary package of over 10 million francs in 2025.
- The top earner is Galderma boss Flemming Ornskov with 17.5 million francs, followed by Partners Group CEO David Layton with 16 million.
- The Ethos Foundation, on whose analysis the figures are based, speaks of a “normalization of excesses”.
Nowhere in Europe do they earn money CEOs of listed companies on average more than in Switzerland: eight company bosses, all men, were able to In 2025 there will be a total salary of more than 10 million francs are happy, how SRF News based on an analysis by Ethos.
What do you think about the high CEO salaries in large Swiss corporations?
The foundation refers to public amounts approved by shareholders; share grants are not included in the calculation. The top earners at a glance:
Flemming Ornskov, 17.5 million francs
The Dane has been head of the pharmaceutical company Galderma since 2019 and previously held positions at Bayer, Novartis and Merk. In 2025, the 68-year-old was paid more than any other CEO in the country for the first time.
David Layton, 16 million
The 45-year-old American has been CEO of the private equity giant Partners Group since 2021, during which time his salary has more than doubled: While he earned “only” 7 million francs as sole CEO in 2023, last year it was 16 million francs.
Vasant Narasimhan, 15.2 million
The Novartis CEO is also an American and has led the pharmaceutical company for eight years. While the doctor is the third-highest-earning CEO according to Ethos’ calculations, taking into account the share and option grants, he would have made almost 25 million francs last year.
Sergio Ermotti, 14.9 million
While pharmaceuticals and private equity share the podium places among themselves, UBS CEO Ermotti takes fourth place. His return to the big bank after the CS takeover also gave the banker a wage increase: While the Ticino native earned 12.5 million francs in his last year as CEO at UBS before the CS failure, in 2025 it was another 2.4 million more.
Nicolas Bos, 13.6 million
The 55-year-old Frenchman has headed the luxury group Richemont for two years.
Thomas Schineker, 12.6 million
The German-Austrian is a molecular biologist and was appointed CEO in 2023 after 20 years at Roche.
Mario Greco, 10.4 million
The top earner among insurers is the head of Zurich Insurance, Mario Greco. The Italian has held the position for 10 years and has worked in the insurance sector for many years before that.
Jan Jenisch, 10.3 million
The German has headed the building materials group Amrize since it was founded in 2023. The offshoot of the Holcim Group, which Jenisch also headed in the past, is responsible for North American business.
Benedikt Hollenstein (bho) has been at 20 minutes since 2021. He writes for the news desk and also takes on day management shifts there.
