Ernst & Young: Tech And Life Sciences Compensation And Entrepreneurship Study Released

By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Non-founder C-suite executives at technology companies saw their cash compensation increase by 4.8 percent year-over-year, while comparable executives at private life sciences firms experienced an average increase of 3.5 percent. This comes from the CompStudy, now in its 13th year. The CompStudy is produced by Park Square Executive Search in collaboration with Professor Noam Wasserman of the Harvard Business School, and is sponsored by Ernst & Young, LLP and WilmerHale. The 2012 CompStudy survey includes nearly 800 private companies and includes data on more than 3,000 executives.

It also revealed compensation levels and trends about specific functional roles. In terms of target bonuses, non-founder CEOs at private technology companies surveyed saw no change between 2011 and 2012, with the average target bonus holding at $114,000. The 3.9 percent increase in average CEO pay was attributable to the bump in their base salaries from $249,000 in 2011 to $263,000 in 2012.

High-growth, innovation-driven entrepreneurial companies place a high priority on building a great team. The competition for talent that is capable of scaling a company continues to place an upward pressure on compensation,” commented Bryan Pearce, Americas Director, Entrepreneur Of The Year® and Venture Capital Advisory Group, Ernst & Young LLP.

More than 775 privately-held, emerging technology and life sciences companies throughout the United States took part in the survey, which delved into the compensation, bonus and equity packages of top executive positions, including Chief Executive Officer, President/Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. The data was analyzed in aggregate with detailed views by position looking at: industry vertical, product stage, revenue, headcount, geography, founder status and financing stage. Nearly 85 percent of the surveyed companies have fewer than 75 employees.