20/10/2026
Back to all articles
At executive level, compensation extends well beyond the monthly salary.
A candidate considering a CEO, CFO, Commercial Director or another senior leadership position in Belgium will typically assess the full package: fixed salary, annual bonus, company car or mobility solution, pension and insurance, equity or long-term incentives, flexibility and other benefits attached to the role.
This becomes particularly important when approaching executives who are already well established in their current positions. Moving companies can mean giving up an accumulated package, an expected bonus, long-term incentives or working arrangements negotiated over several years.
For Belgian employers competing for senior leadership talent, understanding the value of the overall package has therefore become an important part of a successful Executive Search.
Executive compensation in Belgium: why the total package matters
Belgium has long had a compensation culture in which benefits sit alongside gross salary.
There’s obviously the salary range displayed on the job offer, but there’s so much more to create the full remuneration package. Company cars are perhaps the most visible example, but executive packages can also include performance-related bonuses, supplementary pensions, insurance, mobility arrangements and different forms of employee participation or long-term incentives.
For senior candidates, these components form part of the economic value of changing jobs.
An executive earning a certain fixed salary today may also receive a substantial annual bonus, pension contributions, health coverage, a high-value company car, additional leave or long-term incentives that have not yet vested.
A competing offer needs to take this wider picture into account.
At executive level, candidates rarely compare one salary figure with another. They look at what they have today, what they would be giving up and what the new opportunity offers in return. That is why understanding the full package very early in a search is essential.
— Xavier Jacquet, Associate Director, Morgan Philips Executive Search Belgium
This can create discrepancies between the employer's perception of an attractive offer and the candidate's own calculation. An increase in fixed salary may lose much of its appeal if accepting the position means leaving behind a sizeable bonus or valuable long-term benefits.
Is a company car still important when recruiting executives in Belgium?
The company car remains deeply embedded in Belgian remuneration practices.
Belgian tax authorities treat the private use of an employer-provided vehicle as a benefit in kind, with its taxable value calculated according to specific criteria including the vehicle's catalogue value and CO₂ emissions.
Mobility policies are nevertheless evolving. The federal mobility budget provides an alternative framework for eligible employees, allowing the budget associated with a company car to be allocated across different mobility solutions.
This evolution is also changing expectations around executive mobility. A premium company car may remain an important component of the package for an executive who travels frequently between sites. For someone commuting primarily into Brussels, greater choice around mobility may prove more relevant.
Location matters here. An executive travelling between industrial sites in Flanders and Wallonia is unlikely to have the same mobility needs as someone whose activity is concentrated around Brussels.
Companies recruiting senior leaders in Belgium can therefore benefit from considering the practical reality of the position when defining the mobility component of the package.
How important is a bonus in a belgian executive compensation package?
Variable compensation can represent a significant share of an executive's overall remuneration.
Its structure varies considerably according to seniority, function, sector and ownership model. A Commercial Director may have a different balance between fixed and variable pay from a CFO, while the CEO of a privately held business may operate under a very different incentive structure from an executive in a regulated financial institution.
At executive level, candidates generally want to understand how the bonus works in practice: the target percentage, the performance criteria, historical payouts and the extent to which achieving those objectives sits within their control.
“A candidate will often ask us what the bonus really looks like in practice. Not only what the target is, but how it is calculated, whether it has historically been paid and how much control they will actually have over the objectives.”
— Xavier Jacquet, Associate Director, Morgan Philips Executive Search Belgium
Transparency can make a significant difference here. A substantial target bonus may strengthen an offer when the mechanism is clear and credible. Uncertainty around performance criteria or historical payouts can reduce its perceived value.
Equity and long-term incentives: do Belgian executives expect ownership?
Equity is not a standard expectation for every executive appointment in Belgium. Its relevance increases in certain environments, particularly private-equity-backed businesses, scale-ups, entrepreneurial companies and organisations undergoing significant transformation.
Belgian remuneration rules provide frameworks for employee participation, shares and stock options, subject to specific conditions.
From a recruitment perspective, equity can be particularly attractive when an executive is expected to contribute directly to long-term value creation.
A CEO brought in to scale a company internationally, for example, may place considerable value on participating in the upside generated during that period. Similar considerations can arise in transformation or private-equity environments where the executive's mandate is closely connected to a future transaction or value-creation plan.
Long-term incentives can also complicate recruitment.
An executive may already hold shares, options or another incentive that has not yet vested. Leaving their current employer can therefore carry a financial cost that is not immediately visible from their fixed salary.
Understanding these commitments early in the Executive Search recruitment process can prevent significant gaps from emerging at offer stage.
How much flexibility do senior executives expect in Belgium?
Flexibility has become part of the overall employment proposition for many senior professionals.
At executive level, this often concerns autonomy over how work is organised rather than a fixed number of remote-working days.
The nature of the role remains important. A CEO joining an organisation during a major transformation may need considerable physical presence, particularly during the first months. A functional leader managing teams across several countries may have far less reason to spend every working day at Belgian headquarters.
Geography adds another dimension.
Belgian Executive Search frequently crosses regional boundaries. A candidate may live in Antwerp while the company's headquarters are in Brussels, or live in Wallonia while overseeing operations in Flanders. International candidates may also be interested in Belgian leadership positions without wanting to relocate their families immediately.
Rigid office requirements can reduce the number of executives willing to consider an opportunity, particularly when combined with an already demanding candidate specification.
For some positions, flexibility can therefore increase the attractiveness of the package without increasing fixed remuneration.
What benefits matter beyond car, bonus and salary?
Supplementary pension, hospitalisation insurance, guaranteed-income coverage, additional leave, expense allowances and other benefits can all contribute to the overall value of an executive package.
Their importance becomes particularly visible when a candidate changes employer.
Benefits accumulated gradually within one organisation can easily be underestimated during recruitment. The candidate, however, is likely to calculate what will change across the entire package.
Belgian data from the Institute for Company Lawyers provides an illustration of how extensive remuneration packages can become among experienced professionals. Its remuneration survey found that 95% of respondents received hospitalisation insurance, 94% meal vouchers and 88% a supplementary pension. Half received a company car, 79% a bonus and 48% flexible remuneration.
The survey covers in-house legal professionals rather than the full executive population, so these figures cannot be treated as an executive benchmark. They nevertheless illustrate the range of benefits that can form part of remuneration in Belgium.
For senior recruitment, benchmarking the individual components alongside the overall package gives employers a more realistic picture of their position in the market.
Why can a competitive executive package still fail to attract a candidate?
Compensation is only one part of an executive's decision to move.
This is particularly visible in headhunting in Belgium. Many candidates approached for senior leadership positions are performing well in their current organisation and were not planning to leave.
A new opportunity has to justify the disruption associated with moving.
Strategic scope, reporting lines, decision-making authority, company trajectory, Board relationships, team quality, corporate culture and future career prospects can all influence the decision alongside compensation.
“The package gets a candidate into the conversation, but it rarely closes the discussion on its own. At this level, people also move for scope, impact and the opportunity to build something. If those elements are missing, increasing the salary does not always solve the problem.”
— Xavier Jacquet, Associate Director, Morgan Philips Executive Search Belgium
This also explains why two companies offering broadly comparable remuneration can receive very different responses from the same candidate.
The perceived quality of the mandate matters.
A broader P&L, greater autonomy, international exposure, access to the Board or the opportunity to lead a meaningful transformation can materially increase the attractiveness of a position.
What makes a competitive executive package in Belgium?
There is no single package capable of attracting every executive.
Priorities vary according to career stage, function, personal circumstances, appetite for risk and the nature of the opportunity.
Fixed remuneration may dominate one negotiation. In another, the structure of the bonus will matter more. An executive joining a growing business may prioritise equity, while another facing a significant commute may attach greater value to flexibility.
Internal equity also remains important. Offering significantly different conditions to attract an external candidate can create problems once that executive joins an existing leadership team.
Effective executive packages therefore tend to combine three elements: alignment with the external market, consistency with the organisation's internal remuneration structure and enough flexibility to reflect the specific characteristics of the appointment.
When should compensation be discussed during an executive search?
Compensation expectations should be explored relatively early in an Executive Search process.
This does not require negotiating the final offer during an initial conversation. It does require enough visibility to establish whether the candidate and employer are operating within compatible ranges.
For an executive candidate, the discussion may cover fixed remuneration, variable compensation, benefits, long-term incentives and any financial value that would be lost by leaving the current employer.
The recruiter also needs to understand the candidate's priorities. Some executives will require a meaningful increase in fixed compensation to move. Others may accept a relatively modest change in salary if the mandate represents a significant career opportunity.
On the employer side, knowing where flexibility exists can make later negotiations considerably more effective. This may concern fixed compensation, variable pay, a sign-on arrangement, equity, mobility or working arrangements.
Addressing these points early reduces the risk of reaching the final stage with a preferred candidate whose expectations cannot realistically be met.
How executive search helps companies benchmark leadership packages in Belgium
Salary surveys and compensation benchmarks provide useful reference points when defining an executive package.
The position itself still needs context.
Two CFO roles may carry the same title while differing substantially in revenue responsibility, international exposure, team size, transformation agenda, ownership structure and strategic influence. Those differences affect both the relevant candidate pool and the level of compensation required to attract it.
More than finding candidates, Executive Search adds another source of market intelligence: direct interaction with the executives employers are trying to recruit.
Through market mapping and confidential conversations with senior candidates, recruiters can identify recurring patterns. Compensation may consistently sit below expectations. A bonus structure may prove difficult to understand. A mobility policy may discourage candidates from another region. Or the package may be perfectly competitive while another aspect of the mandate is limiting interest.
At Morgan Philips Executive Search Belgium, our consultants combine market knowledge with direct access to senior leadership talent to help companies understand how their opportunity is positioned in the market.
For Xavier Jacquet, Associate Director at Morgan Philips Executive Search Belgium, compensation is ultimately part of a much broader assessment of an executive opportunity:
“The strongest packages are not necessarily the ones with the highest number attached to them. They are the ones where remuneration, responsibilities, incentives and expectations are coherent. Senior candidates quickly see when those elements are aligned.”
— Xavier Jacquet, Associate Director, Morgan Philips Executive Search Belgium
A well-structured package supports the story an employer is telling about the position: its seniority, its expectations, the level of responsibility involved and the value the organisation places on the person taking it on.
For companies competing for experienced leaders in Belgium, that coherence can make a significant difference.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a typical executive compensation package include in Belgium?
An executive compensation package in Belgium typically combines a fixed salary with several additional components. Depending on the seniority, function and company, these may include an annual performance bonus, company car or mobility budget, supplementary pension, hospitalisation and other insurance, expense allowances, additional leave and flexible working arrangements. Equity, stock options or other long-term incentives may also be offered for certain senior leadership positions, particularly in private-equity-backed companies, scale-ups and entrepreneurial environments.
Is a company car still expected by senior executives in Belgium?
Company cars remain a common component of Belgian remuneration packages, particularly for senior management positions. Their importance varies according to the role and the candidate's mobility needs. Executives travelling regularly between offices, clients or operational sites may continue to value a company car highly, while others may prefer greater flexibility through alternative mobility solutions. Employers recruiting executives should therefore consider mobility as part of the overall package rather than assuming the same solution will appeal to every candidate.
How important is a bonus when recruiting a CEO or senior executive in Belgium?
Variable compensation can represent a significant part of remuneration for CEOs and senior executives in Belgium. Candidates generally consider the target bonus, performance criteria, historical payout levels and their ability to influence the objectives. The structure also varies considerably by function and sector. Clear and credible bonus conditions can strengthen an executive offer, while an attractive headline percentage may carry less weight when the underlying targets are unclear or perceived as unrealistic.
Do Belgian executives expect equity or stock options?
Equity and stock options are not standard across all executive positions in Belgium, but they can play an important role in specific environments. They are particularly relevant in private-equity-backed businesses, scale-ups, entrepreneurial companies and organisations where the executive is expected to contribute directly to long-term value creation. Existing equity and unvested incentives should also be considered when approaching senior candidates, as leaving these benefits behind can significantly affect their willingness to change employer.
How can companies determine whether their executive compensation package is competitive in Belgium?
Executive salary benchmarks provide a useful starting point, but the competitiveness of a package also depends on the scope of the position, sector, company size, responsibilities, location and profile being targeted. Executive Search can provide additional market intelligence through direct conversations with relevant senior leaders. At Morgan Philips Executive Search Belgium, our consultants assess candidate expectations throughout the search and help clients understand how their salary, bonus, benefits, flexibility and overall opportunity compare with the market.