Nearly half of Smith & Nephew investors revolt against CEO pay rise

Medical device manufacturer’s policy ultimately passed, putting maximum payout for Deepak Nath at $11.8m

• Nils Pratley: The boardroom pay game has changed for ever

Smith & Nephew had a shareholder revolt on Wednesday when nearly half of voting investors rejected the medical device manufacturer’s plans to raise its chief executive’s pay packet to $11.8m (£9.5m).

But the company’s pay policy, which will increase the maximum payout for Deepak Nath – who is based in Texas – by nearly a third, was narrowly approved, despite 43% of votes cast against the proposals at its annual general meeting in Watford.