Troy Rudd, CEO of AECOM, took home a base salary of $1.4 million in 2025, a 5.6% raise over the previous year, according to the company's recent proxy statement. But in the world of executive compensation, salary is dwarfed by stock. When stock and other incentivized compensation is added to salary, Rudd's total pay package for the year came to $15.9 million. The compensation package is consistent with Dallas-based AECOM's place at No. 1 on ENR's Top 500 Design Firms list and reflects the corporation directors' reliance on improved performance across several measures, including free cash flow for the year of $685 million, a healthy design backlog and win rate. The pay package is also typical of other CEOs of publicly traded design and construction companies, where a pay-for-performance approach is taken by directors and where cash compensation in the form of salaries is minor compared to stock awards or grants. They generally account for 60% to 80% or more of the total compensation.…