The Advisors' Blog

These days, everyone’s got an opinion on executive pay – even the Pope! This article from The Guardian is one of several sources that recaps remarks that Pope Leo made in his first media interview – to Crux, a Catholic-focused newspaper. He had this to say when discussing why the world is so polarized:

Add on top of that a couple of other factors, one which I think is very significant is the continuously wider gap between the income levels of the working class and the money that the wealthiest receive. For example, CEOs that 60 years ago might have been making four to six times more than what the workers are receiving, the last figure I saw, it’s 600 times more than what average workers are receiving. Yesterday the news that Elon Musk is going to be the first trillionaire in the world. What does that mean and what’s that about? If that is the only thing that has value anymore, then we’re in big trouble…

Will the Pope’s remarks affect upcoming faith-based voting policies? Here’s what ISS’s Catholic US Voting Guidelines currently say for shareholder proposals on limiting executive compensation:

▪ Vote for proposals to prepare reports seeking to compare the wages of a company’s lowest paid worker to the highest paid workers.

▪ Vote case-by-case on proposals that seek to establish a fixed ratio between the company’s lowest paid workers and the highest paid workers.

The say-on-pay sections are not much (or any?) different from the regular benchmark policy – they focus on alignment of pay & performance, excessive risk taking, etc.

I sorta doubt the Pope’s remarks are going to make a dent in executive pay practices and voting outcomes, but like his predecessor, Pope Leo is a member of the Jesuit order – and as John has pointed out, you can never underestimate the Jesuits.

The Pope will not be speaking at our upcoming “2025 Proxy Disclosure & 22nd Annual Executive Compensation Conferences” – but plenty of folks who are steeped in compensation practices, SEC disclosure rules, and corporate governance will be there. Check out the full agenda – two days of great info on the many regulatory and practical updates we expect going into the 2026 proxy season – and here are the fabulous speakers. The Conferences are happening in Vegas on Tuesday & Wednesday, October 21st & 22nd. Fly in on Monday, October 20th, to join us at our 50th anniversary celebration!

Register now to attend in person or virtually. You can also reach out to our team by emailing info@ccrcorp.com or calling 1.800.737.1271.

– Liz Dunshee