Fatter Paychecks.

• Position: BOARD BOOK: WHAT'S ON THE AGENDA?

Median total direct compensation (TDC) for CEOs increased 8.7% to $13.4 million. That's double last year's 4.2% increase in TDC and is the highest percentage increase since 2010, the first year of recovery from the Great Recession.

While year-over-year base salaries remained relatively flat, with a 1.5% increase to a median of $1.3 million, a large percentage of the TDC increase came from performance-based...