Dr Michael Smurfit defended his euro 6.5 million pay package to shareholders at a hostile annual general meeting in Dublin today.
Dr Smurfit said his remuneration was based on long term performance targets agreed by Jefferson Smurfit's remuneration committee which is chaired by Eircom chairman and Smurfit board member Mr Ray MacSharry.
Mr Mac Sharry told shareholders that while Mr Smurfit's pay was "generous" it took into account Mr Smurfit's years of experience in the group and the growth of the company during Mr Smurfit's stewardship.
Mr MacSharry said the pay of all top management is set after an assessment of pay among Smurfit's main competitors. When asked if Dr Smurfit's pay was at the upper end of this scale Mr MacSharry said it was.
Dr Smurfit defended the remuneration of his two brothers Mr Dermot Smurfit and Mr Alan Smurfit are paid more than the chief operating officer Mr Gary McGann even though they report directly to Mr McGann.
Both brothers are deputy chairmen of the group and have been with the company longer than Mr McGann, Dr Smurfit said.
Five directors, Mr Dermot Smurfit, Mr Howard Kilroy, Mr Martin Rafferty, Mr Albert Reynolds and Ms Mary Redmond were all re-elected despite unprecedented opposition from two major shareholders - Irish Life and Aberdeen Asset Management.
Dr Smurfit told the meeting that no one was more disappointed than he with the company's current share price. He said the stock market has been unkind to the packaging sector in recent years and attributes less value per share to the sector's earnings than other growth sectors such as technology and telecoms.
He said the world paper market is rapidly consolidating and that Smurfit would be making more acquisitions as this process unfolds.
Dr Smurfit fielded a number of questions from Mr Nestor Ocampo who had flown from Colombia to attend today's meeting. Mr Ocampo criticised the treatment of workers in Smurfit's plantations in Colombia and asked why Colombian workers are not afforded the same rights as its Irish employees.
Dr Smurfit said the company had made significant efforts in recent years to improve working conditions and to comply with environmental standards at its 57,000 acres of plantation in Colombia.
When Dr Smurfit told said he had even received a congratulatory letter from the President of Colombia for his efforts, the meeting broke into laughter.