SAN FRANCISCO, April 18, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Chief executive officers at U.S. venture-backed technology companies are receiving the biggest pay raises-earning nearly $30,000 more per year in total compensation than they did a year ago, according to the results of most recent semi-annual executive compensation survey from Dow Jones CompensationPro, which was re-launched today with a new interface.
The CompensationPro survey is the only national compensation study that focuses exclusively on the executives and employees of privately held, venture-financed entrepreneurial firms in the U.S. The redesigned database was formally re-launched today to coincide with the results of the latest survey.
In total compensation, the survey found that technology CEOs earn a median $289,000 this year, up from $260,000 a year ago, the survey found. More than 700 executives at U.S. venture-backed companies participated in the survey, which is annualized as of April 2007.
The total compensation for CEOs of venture-backed healthcare companies also climbed to a median $300,000, from $284,000 a year ago. Total CEO compensation increased somewhat for the other industry tracked, products and services, to $260,000, about $10,000 higher than the year before.
"As technology investing and liquidity events have increased in recent quarters, the executives leading these companies are reaping bigger rewards. Technology CEOs also received the largest bonuses of any industry, the survey found, a median $63,000 this year, up from $50,000 in 2006," said Jessica Canning, Director of Global Research at VentureOne. "Technology CEOs also received the largest equity allocations of the three major industries, at 4.9%, compared to 4.7% for healthcare CEOs and 4% for product & services CEOs."
Regardless of industry, the survey found the median total CEO compensation is now $275,000, up from $263,000 a year ago. The amount of equity in their companies that CEOs reported receiving is 4.7%, a decrease from the 5% equity allocation reported last year.
By geography, CEOs based in the Northeast earn the largest total compensation packages, at $310,000, followed by Northern California at $300,000 and the Midwest at $284,000.
CompensationPro compiles data on 135 different job titles at 734 venture-backed companies -- representing nearly 7,800 individuals -- for the online database of salary, bonus and equity information. The statistics in CompensationPro are broken down by region, industry, stage-of-company development, company revenue, number of employees and a variety of additional metrics that make it possible to compare compensation packages accurately.
"The innovative enhancements we have made to the database will provide users with a streamlined navigation system, better search capabilities and more specific job titles enabling them to make precise comparisons in benchmarking compensation packages," said Charles D. Ramser Jr., Director of Product Management, Global Private Markets, at Dow Jones Financial Information Services group.
For further statistics and information about the CompensationPro database, please contact (877) 633-8663 or email: Sales@CompensationPro.com.
About CompensationPro
CompensationPro (www.venturecapital.dowjones.com), produced by Dow Jones Financial Information Services, is the leading database of compensation information for private venture-backed companies in the U.S. Dow Jones also produces sector-specific products and events for the private equity, venture capital and diversified markets including VentureSource, Private Equity Analyst, VentureWire and Daily Bankruptcy Review.
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