2. Compensation policy and principles

Zehnder Group’s executives and employees are the company’s most valuable assets. There would be no entrepreneurial success without their commitment, passion and professionalism. Consequently, the clear objectives of the compensation policy are to recruit and retain qualified employees, to drive best-in-class performance, to ensure market-based pay and to encourage behaviour that is in line with the company’s values and high standards of integrity. The compensation programmes are designed to fulfil these fundamental objectives based on the compensation principles.

Compensation policy and principles

Alignment with business strategy	Compensation programmes are designed to support the business strategy.
Reward for sustainable performance	Variable compensation is based on the profitability of the company and its businesses, hence the performance management process is a central management tool to drive sustainable performance.
Participation in the company’s long-term success	Executives have the opportunity to participate in the company’s long-term success through the variable long-term compensation plan and the Zehnder Group Management Share Plan.
Market competitiveness	Compensation is regularly benchmarked against best market practice. The policy is to target median compensation of the relevant benchmark considering years of experience in the role.
Transparency and fairness	Compensation decisions are transparent and fair. The global grading system ensures consistency across the organisation.