AMD's Lisa Su is first woman to top AP's CEO pay analysis

Lisa Su of Advanced Micro Devices is the first woman ever to top The Associated Press’ annual survey of CEO compensation: Her 2019 pay package was valued at $58.5 million following a strong performance for the company's stock during her five years as CEO.

The median pay for women on the list was $13.9 million, versus $12.3 million for men. Pay for women was up 2.3% from last year, looking at the median; the median change for men was 5.4%. And, women remained significantly underrepresented as CEOs, heading just 5% percent of S&P 500 companies.

“Women are making incremental progress achieving leadership positions in the C-suite,” said Lorraine Hariton, President & CEO of Catalyst, a nonprofit organization focused on women in the workplace. “However, the fact remains that women CEOs still represent a disproportionately small share of corporate leadership, and women of color aren’t represented at all.”

The 2019 pay figures are from before the coronavirus pandemic upended everything. Hundreds of CEOs have already said they’ll forgo some or all of their salary. And the turmoil in the stock market and the global economy could make it tougher for CEOs to meet performance targets this year.

The analysis of executive pay at companies in the S&P 500 was conducted for the AP by Equilar. The annual review began in 2011. It includes only CEOs who have been in their job for at least two full years, in part to avoid the distortions caused by sign-on bonuses. As a result, a couple CEOs with packages valued even more highly than Su's were excluded.

Su's compensation was more than four times the value of her pay in the prior year. The gain was driven primarily by rewards for performance, including $53 million in stock awards and $3 million in stock options, which vest over several years. Su was paid a base...