EXECUTIVE pay is a hot topic, but one of ANZ's most senior executives says he is mystified that Australians love hearing about the millions paid to athletes and movie stars, but slam the remuneration of corporate leaders.

''We seem happy and even proud when our sports people make it onto the list of the top 20 paid people, or similarly when our entertainers make it on Hollywood's best-paid list,'' ANZ Australia chief executive Phil Chronican told an American Chamber of Commerce in Australia lunch yesterday.

Perplexed ... Phil Chronican. Credit:Justin McManus

''Yet for some reason when people are managing large complex businesses it is seen as excessive.''

Mr Chronican said the issue was not whether an executive was paid $1 million, $3 million, $5 million or more, but why.