NZX boss chalks up 20pc pay increase

Stock Exchange boss Mark Weldon notched up a 20 per cent pay rise last year.

The NZX 2004 annual report shows that Weldon received remuneration of $755,000 in the year to December 31, 2004. That's up 20.9 per cent on the $645,248 he received in 2003. Weldon's pay packet puts him on a par or ahead of chief executives from much larger companies, such as the bosses of the major electricity companies, the Warehouse and Sky TV.

Of course, the importance of the stock exchange to the whole financial sector means Weldon's responsibilities far outweigh the market capitalisation of the recently listed exchange.

Weldon is credited with injecting new life into the exchange which has attracted a long line of new listings and has outperformed expectations since he took over in 2002.

Regardless of what sort of pay rise Weldon earns next year, he will soon be eligible to start cashing in on millions of dollars in performance-related shares.

In 2003, the NZX issued more than 600,000 incentive scheme shares to a trust which holds them until Weldon earns the right to cash them in - something he can do progressively between June this year and 2007.

The share purchase was funded with a $2.1 million loan that Weldon must repay but based on last week's share price he would be in line for a profit of more than $4 million.