Better to under-promise: Study finds optimistic CEOs are paid less

Optimistic chief executives are paid less than their peers, research by HEC Business School in Paris has found.

Analysing the compensation of 2,559 CEOS from 1,500 companies in the United States, Professor Clemens Otto (pictured) found that more CEOs looking on the bright side received smaller stock option grants, fewer bonus payments, and less compensation overall than their more pessimistic peers. Otto explained in his report: "Optimistic CEOs are often happier to expect smaller pay packages on the assumption that stock options, in particular, will be worth more than can be reasonable expected." Those who take their share options late, in the belief they will increase in value over time, also...