Monthly wage of Petrom’s CEO estimated at some €40,000

Gheorghe’s earnings and those of other members of Petrom’s Board of Directors, which includes four Austrians, one Hungarian, and one Briton are classified by officials of the stock exchange listed company as “confidential”. Fifty-two administrators and directors, a list including the top seven Petrom people, received RON 8.7 million (€2.62 mln) in 2007, according to the company’s annual report. By way of comparison, Mariana Gheorghe’s boss, Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer, President of OMV and Chairman of Petrom’s Board of Directors, received €2.195 mln in 2007, of which €600,000 is the fixed wage (a monthly €50,000), and the rest performance bonuses (€1.4 mln), contributions to his pension fund (€145,000) and other benefits (company car, insurance policy, reimbursable expenses, worth a total €8,000).

According to sources within the company, Mariana Gheorghe’s monthly salary is some €15,000, including performance bonuses (which for OMV top managers is some 2.2 times larger than the base salary) and stock options.

Furthermore, experts in the executive search industry contacted by Business Standard, estimate that the monthly wage of Petrom’s CEO is worth some €35,000-€40,000. Sources quoted insist that some expats in Petrom’s management earn 20-25 percent more than Gheorghe.