Belgium: Moroccan Ilham Kadri receives a record bonus of 40 million euros

– bySaid · 2 min read
Belgium: Moroccan Ilham Kadri receives a record bonus of 40 million euros

The 2025 financial report of the Belgian chemical group Syensqo reveals that its Moroccan-born CEO, Ilham Kadri, received more than 40 million euros. This colossal sum combines her regular salary, various exceptional bonuses, and severance pay.

This overall amount revives strong tensions within the company, currently weakened by a significant drop in its stock market value. The CEO’s ordinary annual base salary is 7.6 million euros, a figure that includes her fixed income, variable shares, and several long-term benefits.

On Bladi.net: Belgium: Moroccan Ilham Kadri receives a record bonus of 25.7 million euros

To these emoluments are added a series of contractual payments related to the end of her term. The accounting document precisely details a severance payment of 13.1 million euros, supplemented by a non-compete clause set at 4.4 million euros. Two additional retention bonuses, allocated for the 2025 and 2026 fiscal years, represent 3.5 and 4 million euros, respectively.

The total bill is also increased by a specific reimbursement related to her move from the United States in 2019. Following the loss of her favorable tax status in Belgium in early 2024, the company had to pay her 7.88 million euros for tax equalization, thus applying measures approved by the Solvay board of directors before the split of the entity.

Although the person concerned has left her executive functions in January to adopt a simple role of transition advisory, these remuneration provoke the anger of the investors. The Solvac holding company, managed by the founding family, and the minority shareholders contest this wage policy, recalling that the CEO had already cashed in nearly 22 million euros in 2023.

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These financial decisions, considered completely disconnected from the company’s actual performance in the markets, promise particularly stormy exchanges. The company’s management will have to justify these accounting commitments to the dissatisfied investors at the next general meeting, scheduled for May 5.