The writer of the March 8 letter complaining about the salaries of CEOs it totally uninformed.
CEOs are not paid by the hour because they don’t work by the hour. CEOs do not work an 8-hour day, 40-hour week, and go home to the wife and kids. That is what the “hourly wage earner” does. There is no five-day work week for the CEO and most, if not all, “vacations” are “working holidays.” To be a successful CEO, a person has to be devoted to the business and willing to sacrifice a personal life for the sake of the company.
A CEO has a higher education (law degree, MBA or equivalent) and a proven track record in running a business. This requires the ability to “read” people, the imagination to visualize the end result of a venture before it is implemented, the genius to understand how something can be accomplished, and the tenacity to work the long hours required to successfully lead a firm.
A person hoping to become a CEO starts early in life studying the proper subjects, graduates from a university and is offered the opportunity to join the administrative staff of a firm. If the person proves to have the leadership ability, initiative and “spirit” to be a CEO, then the opportunity to make the big bucks happens.
Regardless of how the public views the leaders of the world, they all have higher educations and leadership abilities or they wouldn’t be in the positions of power.
We are not talking about how much money is earned. The question is how talented, how much education and determination a person has to prove they can be a CEO.
Astronomical sums are paid because other firms will “steal” a proven CEO by offering more money and incentives.
Richard M. Brauer
Langley
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