Updated April 2026 · SEC DEF 14A data
Medical Devices, CEO Pay Comparison
CEOs in the Medical Devices sector earn an average of $10.0M per year across 6 tracked public companies. The average CEO-to-worker pay ratio is 111:1, and the average say-on-pay shareholder vote approval is 93.2%.
6 companies tracked · sector rank #49 of 99 for average compensation
Medical Devices covers 6 U.S. public companies in our SEC proxy-statement dataset. Average CEO compensation in the industry runs $10.0M, with a median of $12.0M — the spread between mean and median is wide because a handful of mega-cap firms pull the average well above the median. Average CEO-to-worker pay ratio in Medical Devices is 111x, with average say-on-pay approval of 93%. The highest-paid CEO in the industry is at Abbott Laboratories, with total compensation of $12.0M.
Industry-level CEO pay analysis is most useful for peer-group comparisons. Compensation committees explicitly select peer groups when setting CEO pay, so cross-industry comparisons need to control for the peer-group structure that drives the underlying decisions.
What Medical Devices Pay Looks Like
$10.0M is roughly mid-pack across U.S. industries — rank 49 of 99. Pay structures here lean more toward cash and time-vested equity rather than the mega performance-share grants that define the highest-paid sectors.
A 111:1 average ratio is on the lower side for U.S. industry. Sectors with ratios below 200:1 are typically those with highly compensated median workers — financial services, technology, biotech, and specialized professional services.
An average say-on-pay approval of 93.2% is healthy. ISS and Glass Lewis routinely recommend "for" at companies in this band, and outright pushback is uncommon. Pay-for-Performance grades are mixed in Medical Devices: roughly 17% A, 0% F, with the remainder split between B, C, and D. Outcomes vary by individual company governance rather than a sector-wide pattern.
Highest Paid CEOs in Medical Devices
Abbott Laboratories
CEO: Robert Ford
Medtronic
CEO: Geoff Martha
Intuitive Surgical
CEO: Gary Guthart
Becton Dickinson
CEO: Tom Polen
Edwards Lifesciences
CEO: Bernard Zovighian
ResMed
CEO: Mick Farrell
How Medical Devices Stacks Up Against Other Sectors
Across the 99 sectors tracked by CEOPayWatch, Medical Devices ranks #49 in average CEO compensation and #67 in average CEO-to-worker pay ratio. Sector-level rankings are computed from the same SEC-disclosed Summary Compensation Table figures used on individual company profiles, so the rank reflects where this industry's median pay package sits in the live distribution rather than a stale annual snapshot. The cross-sector average compensation is $12.2M, which puts Medical Devices $2.2M below the typical industry baseline.
The dispersion within an industry frequently matters more than the cross-sector ranking. A sector can have a high average compensation driven by two or three mega-pay outliers while the median company is paid modestly. The companies listed above show the top of the pay distribution for Medical Devices; the full company list further down shows the broader distribution. Both lists link to individual company profiles where the source DEF 14A on SEC EDGAR is one click away.
All Medical Devices Companies
Abbott Laboratories
Medtronic
Becton Dickinson
Edwards Lifesciences
Intuitive Surgical
ResMed
How These Sector Numbers Are Calculated
The Medical Devices averages and medians on this page are simple unweighted statistics across the 6 companies CEOPayWatch tracks in the sector. Average and median compensation come from each company's most recent reported total comp in its DEF 14A Summary Compensation Table. Average pay ratio comes from each company's Item 402(u) disclosure. Average say-on-pay approval is the most recent vote share reported in each company's 8-K following its annual meeting. The Pay-for-Performance Grade distribution is computed at the company level from the four-factor composite documented on the methodology page. Authoritative governance context for shareholder votes comes from Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis frameworks.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do Medical Devices CEOs earn?
Average CEO total compensation in Medical Devices is $10.0M, with a median of $12.0M across 6 tracked public companies. $10.0M is roughly mid-pack across U.S. industries — rank 49 of 99. Pay structures here lean more toward cash and time-vested equity rather than the mega performance-share grants that define the highest-paid sectors.
What is the average CEO-to-worker pay ratio in Medical Devices?
Medical Devices reports an average CEO-to-median-worker pay ratio of 111:1. A 111:1 average ratio is on the lower side for U.S. industry. Sectors with ratios below 200:1 are typically those with highly compensated median workers — financial services, technology, biotech, and specialized professional services. The pay-ratio number is required disclosure under SEC Regulation S-K Item 402(u).
Do shareholders approve of Medical Devices CEO pay packages?
Average say-on-pay shareholder approval in Medical Devices is 93.2%. An average say-on-pay approval of 93.2% is healthy. ISS and Glass Lewis routinely recommend "for" at companies in this band, and outright pushback is uncommon.
Where does the Medical Devices pay data come from?
Every figure on this page is sourced from public SEC DEF 14A proxy statements filed annually with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Summary Compensation Table inside each filing is the authoritative document, available on the SEC EDGAR system at https://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml. Pay-ratio disclosure follows Regulation S-K Item 402(u). Say-on-pay vote totals come from each company's 8-K filed within four business days of the annual meeting.
How does Medical Devices compare to other sectors?
Among the 99 sectors CEOPayWatch tracks, Medical Devices ranks #49 in average CEO compensation and #67 in average pay ratio. Compensation in the sector runs $2.2M below the cross-sector average of $12.2M.
Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, DEF 14A proxy filings via EDGAR. Public domain.
Last updated 2026-04-06 · 6 companies in the Medical Devices sector.