Insights

GECN Global Report 2026: Expectations of Boards on executive compensation governance are shifting. What's next?

GECN Group's 2026 report looks at executive pay governance across nine markets around the world: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Hong Kong, Mexico, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The report finds that boards are facing similar pressures: sharper scrutiny of outcomes, higher disclosure expectations, closer alignment between pay and performance.

Yet while governance is moving in a broadly similar direction across most markets, the mechanisms and degree of scrutiny continue to differ by jurisdiction. Switzerland stands out for its principles-based approach, combining binding say-on-pay with strong board discretion, giving companies more flexibility than most peer markets.

The report concludes that the next phase may be defined by less standardized proxy advisor influence, more focus on realized and realizable pay, and earlier investor scrutiny, enabled by data and AI. In this context, boards will need to exercise more discretion but justify their decisions more clearly.

Read the full GECN Group 2026 report to see how executive compensation governance is evolving in your market, and what it means for your board.