Matt Turner, president of Pearl Meyer’s executive compensation consulting, says: “You want to have those [exceptions] as minimal as possible.” And in cases where adjustments are necessary, transparency is non-negotiable.

"Attraction, retention and motivation—those are the three legs of the stool of, really, any pay plan," said Wes Hart, a managing director and team leader at executive compensation consultancy Pearl Meyer in Houston.

"The job of the board is not to get an A+ from ISS," said Turner. "[It's] to make sure that the executive compensation program is effective in incenting and motivating the executive team to provide the best performance possible for shareholders."

Most of the increase to median CEO pay appears to be from performance-based components of compensation and less so from base salary increases, Matt Turner, president of executive compensation at Pearl Meyer, told Agenda.

There's been a visible increase in companies continuing to expand the scope of their clawback policies this proxy season, Matt Turner, president of executive compensation at compensation and leadership consultant Pearl Meyer, told Agenda.

The labor market remains relatively strong, Reilly said. “The demand for talent is there,” he said.

“We always have companies struggle with the question: ‘Is it worth it to be public?’” Managing Director Deb Lifshey said.

"The best-governed boards have a succession plan in place so that they can crack open that playbook in the event of unplanned turnover and not be caught off guard," said Jan Koors, senior managing director and head of consulting services at Pearl Meyer.

"From a governance perspective, outside the bare minimum, [perks] are generally frowned upon," said Ryan Hourihan, managing director with Pearl Meyer.

"If you're not developing leaders against a spec of what you need in future, then you're really behind the curve," said Peter Thies.

“Given the scrutiny, risk, and liability associated with being a director, increases have been slower than some might expect,” said Ryan Hourihan.