Startup CEO Compensation

The returns are falling...the salaries are rising. Go figure. Here is an extract from the XConomy story

The annual studies are conducted by the J. Robert Scott executive search agency, law firm WilmerHale, Ernst & Young, and academics at Harvard Business School.

CEO Cash Compensation (base salary and bonus) By Business Segment:

Life sciences—$410,000
Medical devices—$371,000
Content, information provider—$364,000
Software—$350,000
Services, consulting, integration—$336
Communications—$328,000
Clean technology—$321,000
Hardware, semiconductors, electronics—$315,000

2008 CEO Cash Compensation (base salary and bonus) by Geography

Life sciences/medical devices

New England—$422,000
California—$404,000
Mid-Atlantic—$376,000
South—$337,000
Midwest—$247,000
West—(sample size too small)

Technology

Midwest—$358,000
South—$351,000
California—$345,000
New England—$343,000
Mid-Atlantic—$327,000
West—$322,000

As for next year’s compensation data, let’s keep our fingers crossed for positive results.