Chief executives enjoyed average salary increases of 10 per cent in the year to April, a survey has found. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) was just 1.4 per cent during the period.

The survey, conducted by the Irish Management Institute (IMI), also found salaries among senior managers increased by 6.1 per cent. In the previous IMI survey, managerial salaries increased by 4.7 per cent. CPI in that period was 4.3 per cent.

The IMI surveyed more than 160 companies, covering 6,355 managers. The organisation said the survey covered a "broad cross-section of Irish business".

The survey's authors said the highest recorded wage increase was at chief executive level, followed by "head of function" level.

Several industries, especially information technology, showed a strong recovery in salary levels.

Apart from salary levels, the survey also studied in detail fringe benefits available to senior management figures.

In most cases, the senior management figures were male. According to the IMI, only 4 per cent of chief executives were female, although this was up from 3 per cent in the previous survey.

The number of females increased further down the management scales. For example, females made up 19 per cent of head of function grades and 23 per cent of middle management grades.

The survey found that engineering was the most popular background of a chief executive, with 30 per cent coming from that discipline.

This was followed by sales and marketing (26 per cent) and finance (21 per cent).

The majority of companies said they operated an annual performance bonus scheme, with chief executives and head of function receiving the most regular reviews.

The survey also studied the level of long-term incentives in place for managers. In terms of chief executives, 29 per cent could avail of an employee share option scheme, 15 per cent were members of a share purchase scheme and 13 per cent were able to tap into some kind of profit-sharing scheme.

Companies were also asked about their company car policy. The survey shows that the level of company car ownership has been slipping sharply in recent years. In 1998, 85 per cent of chief executives were supplied with a company car, but this has now fallen to 44 per cent.

A large number of chief executives were driving cars worth between €50,000 and €60,000.

The most popular car with chief executives is a BMW, with 32 per cent supplied with this make. Other popular makes were Mercedes-Benz (24 per cent), Audi (13 per cent), Saab (5 per cent) and others (26 per cent).

VHI was the preferred choice for private medical cover, with 69 per cent of respondents saying they had cover with the State-owned firm. BUPA was chosen by 7 per cent of respondents. The survey was conducted before the third health insurance company, Vivas, entered the market.