“In a competitive labor market, it is critical to obtain reliable and current market data when putting together a compensation and total rewards package for any leadership position—and that is most definitely the case for a Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer (CAIO),” said Rebecca Toman, vice president of the survey business unit.

Relevant data for community banks was not available, but all regional banks surveyed in 2023 by compensation firm Pearl Meyer reported providing some cash compensation to advisors, with 78 percent paying per-meeting fees. The median per-meeting fee was $250, with a range of $125 to $1,000 per meeting.

As companies move forward with AI adoption, many leaders have acknowledged that AI is already changing their organizational structure, according to a Pearl Meyer report. Leaders also said they’re developing a change management strategy and implementing communication plans to keep employees informed.

“While CEO compensation discussions are always a negotiation, when it comes to governance and executive compensation discussions—especially where the CEO has become so tied to the perceived value of the organization—the board is no longer negotiating from a position of equal strength,” explained Jan Koors, senior managing director.

Compensation and leadership consultancy Pearl Meyer found in a survey that the vast majority of companies offering title boosts with no money are smaller ventures, with companies below $3 billion in revenue far more likely to use job titles to reward employees than larger companies.

“We see companies are clearly at different stages of AI evaluation. However, the data show many are actively making leadership decisions and talking with employees about the impact of AI on the company and the workforce,” Susan Sandlund, managing director and leadership practice lead at Pearl Meyer, said in a statement.

“Companies will create more buy-in among employees if they have the education around what company stock programs mean for them,” said Aalap Shah, managing director.

Of employers recently polled by compensation and leadership consultancy Pearl Meyer, 13% said they are relying on new job titles to reward employees when money for raises was limited, up from 8% in 2018.

Getting rid of meeting fees and funneling that money to annual cash or equity retainers takes "a lot of noise out of the system," said Ryan Hourihan, a managing director at Pearl Meyer. "It's not a takeaway, but more of a simplification [of] director compensation."

“If shareholders are getting more interested in understanding the CEO succession process, it’s because they have seen failures, and it begs the question of how solid the process is at a given company, and how involved is the board?” said Susan Sandlund, managing director

"The judge found that the people [on Tesla’s board] weren't really independent of Musk," said Deb Lifshey, managing director.

“It’s not surprising that we are seeing stock grants deeper into organizations now that we’re on the other side of the Great Resignation,” said Aalap Shah, managing director.