Global Talent, Local Rules, High-Stakes Pay Decisions

Competing for global talent? Your pay strategy cannot stop at the border. Exclusive new research from Farient and the GECN Group explores executive compensation governance across major markets—from the US and UK to Latin America, Asia, and the Gulf. Here’s what boards and business leaders need to know:

• Talent competition is rewriting pay. UK companies are pursuing higher rewards and alternative incentives. In the Gulf, global hiring pressures and national transformation priorities are driving interest in long-term and deferred awards
• Same ambition. Different rules. Many markets are pushing toward clearer disclosure, stronger risk oversight, and tighter pay-for-performance alignment—but local ownership, regulation, and investor influence change the equation
• Flexibility comes with a burden of proof. Investors are becoming more receptive to tailored pay designs and international benchmarking when boards explain the strategic rationale
• The red flags travel. Poorly justified retention awards, outsized payouts during weak performance, and opaque decisions repeatedly fuel controversy across markets
• Scrutiny is getting smarter. The research anticipates more AI-enabled investor analysis and greater attention to what executives actually earn—not just grant-date values

Download the full report to explore global commonalities and local differences, and sharpen your next boardroom conversation:

Explore Past Farient/GECN Research

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• A New View of Stakeholder Incentives
• ESG Measures Here to Stay, Farient’s Global Research Finds
• 2018 Global Trends in Corporate Governance
• 2017 Global Trends in Corporate Governance

About Farient Advisors 

Farient Advisors LLC, a GECN Group company, is an independent premier executive compensation, performance, and corporate governance consultancy. Farient provides a full array of services linking business and talent strategy to compensation through a tailored, analytically rigorous, and collaborative approach. Farient has locations in New York, Los Angeles, Newport Beach, London, and Louisville, and works with clients globally through its partnership in the Global Governance and Executive Compensation (GECN) Group. Farient is a certified diverse company and is recognized by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council.