This paper examines executive compensation in 43 countries from 1996-2009 and focuses on how national culture affects contracting decisions. Our empirical analysis documents that cultural factors (measuring such societal traits as Individualism and Uncertainty Avoidance) are significant determinants of compensation structure. These results are robust to our use of alternative measures of culture and to our use of alternative empirical methodologies (to mitigate concerns of potential omitted variables and reverse causation). By verifying the strong relation between culture and compensation, we hope to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the interaction between informal institutions and corporate decision-making. JEL Classification: G34, B52, Z13