Generally when hiring, there would be an advertisement, and the opportunity for people to apply to make sure there is a fair, open and transparent process within an organisation. Did this process happen with this selection, how was the selection done in this case? were there interviews etc.

Further usually the salary is set having regard to benchmarks provided by reputable consultants, did this occur and if so I think we should publish the survey results (if permissible) so that the salary can be justified.