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How do CEO, CFO, COO and other executive roles compare across NZX-listed companies? We analyse 392 compensation records and 551 current management team positions across pay, gender, qualifications, universities and career pipelines.
A snapshot of each executive role across the NZX.
Compensation comparison across executive roles, from 392 compensation records disclosed in NZX annual reports.
| Role | Count | Median Pay | Average Pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| CEO | 266 | $1.00M | $1.50M |
| CFO | 22 | $525K | $722K |
| COO | 7 | $565K | $647K |
Which universities produce CEOs vs CFOs vs Directors? Based on disclosed biographies.
| University | CEOs | CFOs | Directors | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Auckland | 17 | 1 | 103 | 124 |
| Harvard University | 2 | 0 | 63 | 67 |
| University of Canterbury | 13 | 0 | 51 | 65 |
| University of Otago | 10 | 0 | 37 | 50 |
Professional qualifications held by CEOs, CFOs, and directors. Do CFOs need a CA?
| Qualification | CEOs | CFOs | Directors | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CA / FCA | 26 | 6 | 246 | 278 |
| Engineering | 19 | 1 | 158 | 178 |
| MBA | 17 | 0 | 112 | 129 |
| LLB / Law |
Gender breakdown across executive roles from 551 current management team positions. Overall, 5% of current NZX executives are female.
| Role | Total | Male | Female | % Female |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CEO | 153 | 109 | 9 | 6% |
| CFO | 69 | 16 | 4 | 6% |
| COO | 20 | 4 | 2 | 10% |
| CTO | 8 |
Institute of Directors (IoD NZ) designation holders by executive role.
| Role | Total | With IoD | % IoD |
|---|---|---|---|
| CEO | 153 | 14 | 9% |
| CFO | 69 | 1 | 1% |
| COO | 20 | 0 | 0% |
| CTO | 8 | 0 | 0% |
| CIO | 6 | 0 | 0% |
| GM | 62 |
How many current CEOs were previously CFO at the same company? Based on management team history in NZX disclosures.
6 current CEOs previously held the CFO role at the same company — suggesting an internal promotion pipeline.
The most common first names among NZX CEOs and their associated median compensation. Names with at least 2 CEOs are shown.
| First Name | CEOs | Median Pay |
|---|---|---|
| Mark | 15 | $1.00M |
| David | 9 | $1.05M |
| Simon | 8 | $1.16M |
| Peter | 7 | $1.07M |
| Michael | 6 | $1.39M |
| John | 6 | $976K |
| Andrew | 6 | $933K |
| Stuart |
Scope: 392 executive compensation records from NZX annual reports and 551 current management team positions as at 31 March 2026.
Role classification (compensation): CEO includes "chief executive", "ceo", "managing director". CFO includes "chief financial", "cfo". COO includes "chief operating", "coo". All other executive roles are grouped as "Other Exec".
Role classification (management team): Uses the normalised role field from NZX management team disclosures: CEO, CFO, COO, CTO, CLO, CIO, CMO, MD, GM, Other.
Demographics: Gender, university, IoD designation, and qualifications are sourced from director biographies, shared people records, and executive enrichment pipelines. Coverage varies by field.
Career pipeline: Identifies current CEOs who appear as former CFOs at the same issuer in management team history. Disclosure history begins ~2010 for most companies, so earlier transitions may not be captured.
Compensation normalisation: Values under $10,000 are multiplied by 1,000 (likely reported in thousands). Values over $10,000,000 are divided by 1,000. This handles inconsistent reporting formats across issuers.
Limitations: Executive compensation disclosure varies between issuers. Not all roles are disclosed individually. Demographics depend on biography quality. Small cohort sizes (particularly CFO and COO) limit statistical significance. Correlation does not imply causation.
Published 31 March 2026 by NZXplorer. For informational purposes only. Not investment or financial advice. If you believe any data is incorrect, contact hello@nzxplorer.co.nz.
NZ Governance Power Index — top directors, board interlocks, auditor concentration, and multi-board analysis.
Interactive force-directed visualization of board interlocks across NZX, charities, iwi, and public sector.
Auditor market concentration, tenure analysis, and director-auditor independence.
Data sourced from NZX annual reports, management team disclosures, and executive compensation records. Our datasets may not be complete. Automated analysis can produce errors. Scores are calculated using disclosed methodology and are analytical tools, not investment ratings or recommendations. If you believe any data on this page is incorrect, please contact us at hello@nzxplorer.co.nz.
For informational purposes only. Not investment advice.
| Other Exec | 97 | $287K | $806K |
| Massey University | 8 | 0 | 39 | 47 |
| Victoria University of Wellington | 7 | 2 | 30 | 41 |
| Wharton School (UPenn) | 1 | 0 | 19 | 23 |
| University of Melbourne | 2 | 0 | 19 | 21 |
| University of Waikato | 3 | 0 | 13 | 18 |
| Stanford University | 2 | 0 | 16 | 18 |
| Queensland University of Technology | 2 | 2 | 11 | 15 |
| University of New South Wales | 2 | 0 | 10 | 14 |
| University of Sydney | 1 | 0 | 12 | 13 |
| Deakin University | 3 | 0 | 9 | 12 |
| University of Cambridge | 0 | 0 | 12 | 12 |
| INSEAD | 3 | 0 | 8 | 11 |
| University of Technology | 2 | 0 | 9 | 11 |
| Auckland University of Technology | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 0 | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| University of Pennsylvania | 0 | 0 | 7 | 8 |
| Macquarie University | 2 | 0 | 6 | 8 |
| Monash University | 2 | 0 | 5 | 7 |
| Queensland University | 2 | 0 | 5 | 7 |
| Loughborough University | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Cranfield University | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| 13 |
| 1 |
| 84 |
| 98 |
| AICD | 3 | 0 | 46 | 49 |
| PhD / Doctorate | 4 | 0 | 21 | 25 |
| 2 |
| 0 |
| 0% |
| CIO | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| GM | 62 | 1 | 2 | 3% |
| Other | 199 | 17 | 11 | 6% |
| 0% |
| Other | 199 | 1 | 1% |
| 6 |
| $485K |
| Mike | 5 | $1.13M |
| Grant | 5 | $1.04M |
| Richard | 5 | $1.03M |
| Chris | 4 | $2.93M |
| Scott | 4 | $1.37M |
| Paul | 4 | $952K |
| Brent | 4 | $833K |