Richmond’s Top CEOs Saw Pay Rises in 2023

CEOs of Richmond’s largest publicly traded companies generally enjoyed pay increases in 2023, according to a BizSense analysis of recently filed proxy statements. Most of the top executives at the 22 biggest firms in the region saw their total compensation rise, with an average increase of 14% from 2022 to 2023. However, the average compensation package was $5.45 million, down from $5.69 million in the previous year.

Overall, the total compensation for the 22 CEOs amounted to $132.89 million in 2023, surpassing the totals of $119.54 million in 2022 and $121.8 million in 2021. CEO compensation packages typically include base salary, stock awards, bonuses, and non-equity incentive payments, along with various perks like retirement contributions, health programs, tax planning services, and sometimes allowances for company cars, country club dues, and private jet usage.

Altria CEO William Gifford Jr. topped the pay list again, earning over $18 million in 2023, which was about $2 million more than his 2022 compensation and more than three times the average pay package of his peers.

Markel CEO Thomas Gayner experienced the largest percentage increase, with his compensation more than doubling to $8 million, driven largely by a significant rise in non-equity incentive payments.

NewMarket CEO Thomas Gottwald also saw a substantial increase of 52.8%, with his earnings rising from $2.09 million in 2022 to $3.2 million in 2023, largely due to a $900,000 change in his pension value.

Other notable increases included:

• • • Owens & Minor’s Edward Pesicka: +34.34%
    • Dynex Capital’s Byron Boston: +46.01%
    • Kinsale Capital Group’s Michael Kehoe: +38.03%
    • Universal Corp.’s George Freeman III: +29.35%

CarMax CEO William Nash earned the second-highest compensation at $11.59 million, despite a 15% decrease from his 2022 total of $13.69 million due to reductions in salary, stock awards, and non-equity incentive payments.

Tredegar CEO John Steitz saw the largest drop in compensation, with a 48.19% decrease from $3.67 million to $1.9 million, partly due to a significant reduction in stock awards. Tredegar’s financial performance also suffered, with a net loss of $105.9 million in 2023 compared to a $29 million net income in 2022. The company’s stock fell by 29% over the year.

Other CEOs who experienced pay decreases in 2023 included:

• • • ASGN’s Theodore Hanson: -18.55%
    • Dominion Energy’s Robert Blue: -7.60%
    • ARKO’s Arie Kotler: -9.50%
    • LL Flooring’s Charles Tyson: -7.97%
    • Village Bank and Trust’s James Hendricks Jr.: -5.08%

Hanson’s compensation dropped to just under $7 million, a million less than in 2022, due to an 83.4% decrease in non-equity incentive payments. Blue’s pay decrease led him to fall from sixth to eleventh place in the rankings, with his compensation decreasing from $6.79 million in 2022 to $6.28 million in 2023.

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