The referendum in Switzerland caps an emotional four-year effort by Thomas Minder, a businessman turned politician who has campaigned against excessive executive compensation.

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Switzerland's proposals, developed by lawmaker Thomas Minder, have drawn fierce criticism from the country's business community, including the influential Economiesuisse and Swissmem lobbies.

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The reforms are the brainchild of Swiss businessman-turned-politician Thomas Minder.

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The initiative was spearheaded by Thomas Minder, an entrepreneur who as a shareholder in Swissair, the erstwhile sickly and now defunct national airline, had chafed at the huge pay Swissair directors kept awarding themselves.

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Support for the plans - brain child of Swiss businessman turned politician Thomas Minder - has been fuelled by a series of perceived disasters for major Swiss companies, coupled with salaries and bonuses staying high.

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Brigitta Moser-Harder, an activist shareholder who spearheaded the yes-campaign together with entrepreneur Thomas Minder, said that the result, one of the most emphatic yes-votes ever in a Swiss referendum, sent a clear signal to companies both within and beyond Switzerland's borders.

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