ZURICH, March 9 (Reuters) - ABB paid new chiefexecutive Ulrich Spiesshofer nearly 5.8 million Swiss francs($6.60 million) last year, a quarter more than the previousyear, according to the industrial conglomerate's annual report.
Under Spiesshofer, who in September was promoted to overallCEO from head of the Swiss firm's discrete automation and motion(DAM) arm, ABB is seeking to sell several non-core businesses indeals that could raise more than $1 billion, people familiarwith the matter told Reuters last month.
Spiesshofer wasn't the highest-paid ABB executive in 2013:that honour went to Diane de Saint Victor, the company's chieflawyer, who earned nearly 6.8 million francs in 2013.
That included 150,000 ABB shares valued at 3.1 millionfrancs as a "special retention" grant for de Saint Victor, whojoined the board of Barclays last year.
Outgoing CEO Joe Hogan earned 4.7 million francs until Sept.15, when he was replaced by Spiesshofer.
Brice Koch, the former head of ABB's power unit where thecompany warned on fourth-quarter profits in January, earned 3million francs through November, before he left to take the topjob at OC Oerlikon.
Pay is a closely-watched topic in Switzerland, where voterslast year backed some of the world's strictest controls onexecutive remuneration, forcing public companies to giveshareholders a binding vote on compensation.
Barclays (BARC)