Research Methodology

Chief Executive Research sent surveys to the readers of Chief Executive magazine as well as select segments of its online database of CEOs in April and May of 2012, asking for company information, compensation data, policies, and procedures for their most recently completed fiscal year.

1,101 private companies responded to the survey, with 686 completing the detailed compensation questions. There were a total of over 2,600 responses for individual compensation packages.

Strong response rates were received from private companies representing a wide range of sizes, industries, geographies, and ownership types.

The survey effort focused on private companies with revenues from less than $2 million to over $1 billion and utilized a stratified sampling of companies to allow companies of each size to benchmark their company against similarly-sized companies.

Number of Surveys Completed by Title

We asked survey respondents to provide compensation data for 10 senior executive positions. For situations where an individual held the title of CEO and another position (e.g. CEO and Chairman), data is included only in the analysis of CEO compensation. Below shows the number of responses included in the final report analysis for each title:

Title Responses
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) 686
Senior Finance Executive (CFO, VP Finance) 390
Senior Operations Executive (COO, GM, VP Operations) 298
Senior Marketing Executive (CMO, VP Marketing) 237
Senior Human Resources Executive (HR Director, VP HR) 226
Chairman 202
Senior Information Technology Executive (CTO, CIO) 195
Senior Sales Executive (CSO, VP Sales) 159
President 120
Senior Research/Engineering Executive 90

Number of Surveys Completed by Company Profile

The report includes breakdowns of compensation for companies across revenue ranges, number of employees, industry, region, revenue growth, and profitability. Below is the percentage of respondents by these various categories.

Number of Responses by Revenue Range
Revenue Range
# of Responses
<$2 million 127
$2 to $4.9 million 66
$5 to $9.9 million 79
$10 to $24.9 million 149
$25 to $49.9 million 142
$50 to $99.9 million 164
$100 to $249.9 million 176
$250 to $499.9 million 67
$500 to $999.9 million 58
$1 billion+ 70

Number of Responses by Number of Employees
Number of Employees
# of Responses
0 to 10 129
10 to 24 80
25 to 49 86
50 to 99 144
100 to 249 204
250 to 499 163
500 to 999 109
1,000 to 4,999 118
5,000 to 9,999 23
10,000+ 41

Number of Responses by Industry
Industry
# of Responses
Advertising/Marketing/PR/Media/Entertainment 44
Construction/Engineering/Mining 65
Energy/Utility 29
Financial Services (Banking, Insurance, Brokerage, Investments) 96
Government and Non-Profit        27
Health Care (Providers and Payers) 71
High Tech/Telecommunications 90
Manufacturing (Consumer Goods) 104
Manufacturing (Industrial Goods) 137
Pharmaceuticals & Medical Products 25
Professional Services (Legal, Consulting, Accounting, Architecture) 115
Real Estate          22
Retail Trade        53
Transportation (Airlines, Trucking, Rail, Shipping, Logistics) 32
Travel and Leisure (Hotels) 9
Wholesale/Distribution 70

Number of Responses by Region
Region
# of Responses
Midwest 289
Northeast 205
South 317
West 248

Number of Responses by Revenue Growth
Revenue Growth
# of Responses
Down 0.1 – 9.9% 89
Down 10 – 19.9% 40
Down >20% 45
Flat 155
Up 0.1 – 9.9% 370
Up 10 – 19.9% 216
Up >20% 179

Number of Responses by Profitability (EBITDA Margin)
Profitability (EBITDA Margin)
# of Responses
0 – 4.9% 251
10 – 19.9% 104
20 – 30% 276
5 – 9.9% 272
>30%      64
Unprofitable 106

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Testimonials

  • "I found the report most useful because of the detailed information by job category. The information on the report makes us aware of what the market is doing to reward Chief and Senior Executives. Our immediate use was to benchmark against our Senior Executive Sales & Marketing position."

    Ligaya Bowman, VP of Human Resources, Datron World Communications, Inc.
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