Growth in US executive pay has slowed sharply in spite of record profit growth, according to preliminary findings from an independent corporate governance watchdog.

The Corporate Library, which usually estimates greater pay inflation than most industry studies, calculates that US chief executives took home 11 per cent more money in 2005, compared with a 30 per cent rise the year previously. Among the 500 largest companies, median total compensation reported to date rose by just 3.7 per cent in 2005 to $5.2m.