Coles and Bunnings owner Wesfarmers will pay its new chief executive $3 million less than outgoing long-serving boss Richard Goyder.
Olympic medallist and recently installed deputy CEO Rob Scott will replace Mr Goyder in November when he steps down after 12 years in the top job to lead the AFL Commission.
Mr Scott won't be inheriting Mr Goyder's fixed salary of $3.5 million.
Instead he will be paid $2.5 million and his total pay packet, including incentives, is set at $7.5 million, almost 30 per cent less than Mr Goyder's $10.5 million pay packet.
Mr Scott will be paid as much as $3 million less than Mr Goyder because CEO remuneration in Australia has been shrinking, Wesfarmers chairman Michael Chaney says.
"We recognise changes in the market that have seen downward pressure on fixed pay levels for CEOs and reductions in overall reward opportunities," Mr Chaney said in a statement to the ASX on Monday.
"The board and Mr Scott have discussed and recognised the expectations of Wesfarmers' many stakeholders regarding the remuneration levels of senior executives and believe that this package and those of other senior executives in the group are appropriate and in line with contemporary market practice of peers."
Mr Goyder has been transitioning out of Wesfarmers since he took on the chairmanship of the AFL Commission in April.
Mr Scott, who won a silver medal in rowing at the 1996 Atlanta Games, had worked at Wesfarmers in 1993 before becoming an investment banker.
He returned to the company in 2004, climbing the corporate ladder to lead its insurance arm, then Coles' finance division followed by managing director of the industrials division.
The 47-year-old has also started shaking up the company's executive leadership in preparation for his ascension.
Chief financial officer Terry Bowen will step down later this year after more than 20 years at Wesfarmers, including eights years as CFO, to chase opportunities elsewhere.
He will be replaced by the group's current boss of its industrials division, Anthony Gianotti.
David Baxby will take over the industrials division in August, while Bunnings Australia and New Zealand managing director Michael Schneider has been promoted to lead the hardware chain worldwide.
