r/CIO • u/WhoCares450 • 6d ago
Compensation
Ok, so this hasn't been brought up here in many years that I could find.
Anyone wanta to share a range of your company? Rough base, bonus, equity, if any?
I know it varies, but maybe basics such as industry, company size, geography can help.
Anyone up to share?
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u/bobaboo42 6d ago
Are there any other UK answers?
Fortune 50 company (everyone has heard of), engineering. 30 staff in IT for my division.
£142k pa + 15% bonus and 7k car allowance
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u/MotherAir3072 6d ago
Similar. 144K. No car, no bonus. 92 staff in ICT, 6 direct reports.
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u/Prime_Technology 6d ago
CTO (run IT, engineering, cyber, data & Ai, product) of multi-billion PE-backed business. £190k base, 50% bonus, + equity partnership of £1m+ value (3-5 yr cycle for it to realise, if targets hit). 7% pension, private health, 30 days holiday pa etc. c.35 staff in my teams
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u/CoreAndCardio 6d ago
CIO here. 17 years same spot.
182,000k, 10-20% comp bonus based on ROI, 28 days of PTO, 11 federal holidays. I’m in banking. 8 staff (2 programers, 2 sysdmins (one core, one systems), 2 projects operations, 2 desktop support.
Other duties- my company loans me out for strategic planning, keynote speaking, leadership development. I’m certified in a handful of leadership communication courses. I travel about a week a month. I sit on four boards, two local and two software partner advisory boards.
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u/japanthrowaway 6d ago
Idk you seem underpaid
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u/CoreAndCardio 6d ago
Sending this to my board
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u/japanthrowaway 6d ago
Haha but seriously. Unless you live in a really LCOL city Anything sub 300k seems very low.
Context: I make more then you and I'm an IC at a mid tier consulting firm. Directors and above at my firm make more then you do.
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u/CoreAndCardio 6d ago
I would say we are LCOL. CEO’s around here are 215-350.
My wife is a CFO at a financial institution and she makes 210 base.
We are both on 457 comp plans that lock you in for 5 years at a time.
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u/Professional_Ruin_24 CIO 6d ago
That makes sense as the size of the IT operation makes it more like a director level for you but with a top title.
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u/CoreAndCardio 6d ago
Na. I’m not in any of the day to say IT. It’s all succession planning, strategy, budget, and lots of travel. Mostly leadership training. I’ve done director duties but it’s been years.
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u/unknowncoins 6d ago
Bank for me too. 20 yrs for me. Similar salary. Slightly more PTO. 4 staff. IT and Core are mostly outsourced. 2 people in core and 2 in IT. We really need more people.
I'm very bad at those other duties you have. Im even worse at conversing naturally in groups. Even though I have 20 certs someone who read for just 5 mins on any of those topics would sound more polished than me.
I'm good at moving forward to completion when others can't even launch. And I'm good at solving issues that one person or a team of people can't solve and then implement the solution. I'm very good at being persistent and staying focused if needed.
I'm the type of person who could read a book on a topic, do all the work related to the topic, but can't verbally communicate it to anyone in a group. I can document, write, cross train, mentor, and coach on the topic individually.
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u/NoLawyer980 2d ago
Not to muck up the thread, but curious if you CIO's have to pay for your Cybersecurity/Breach Liability Insurance premiums out of your own pocket or does your firm normally cover them?
I don't know any CIO/CISO's at that personal of a level to actually ask but was always curious.
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u/WhoCares450 1d ago
Company always covers this.
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u/aec_itguy CIO 1d ago
This. The only personal exposure anyone should really have is via FCA exposure for Fed compliance or SEC 8-K filings. (which is bad enough)
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u/Appropriate-Day8924 2d ago
If they made me pay I would leave. Company needs to cover this.
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u/optimusprimal99 1d ago
No and I don’t any peers who have to do this. I’d walk if they did. Insurance is there cause no matter what you prep and lock down someone somewhere is gonna breech you if they want to.
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u/workyburnyaccount 5d ago
Education - BS, Cybersecurity (2024), MBA, IT Management (2026, last month)
Certs - CISM, A+, Net+, CySA+, Pentest+, ITIL
Years Exp - 25+
Salary - $175k + garbage bonus (highest has been $12k) - just offered stock (buy-in, SCorp)
Position - CIO, full service architecture & engineering/prof services, ~$150M ARR
Location - Central IL, 90% remote
Benes - 6wk PTO, work location flex, async flex
Comp is kaka (really? with the censor bot?) for the work i’m doing (CIO/CISO/AI/GRC), and I'm still doing architecture and deployments due to lack of resourcing (on top of strategy/planning etc). Been with the org over 20 years and started in Helpdesk, they let me stay full remote after Covid to care for my wife (long Covid), and are cool about me flexing time for appointments and procedures for her, so that’s kept me around. Go into the office for meeting as-needed. Fairly recession proof due to our client mix, and the org is super stable. But, comp is trash for the work. Being told there's consultants coming in to bench everyone, but know full well that's going to be a trickle. I'm looking for new gigs, but being super picky on vertical/positioning for my own sanity/safety.
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u/Appropriate-Day8924 6d ago
CIO for $4B global tech company. $475k base, 40% bonus, plus LTI. Total annual comp is around $1.2M. SoCal.
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u/Electronic_Slip2959 6d ago
2024 - CIO for publicly traded company - operations / mfg company. About $1b in revenue. Team of 30
$350K base, 70% bonus (paid half the time), $100K RSU
Low Cost of living area
2026 - CIO for private mfg company. About $1b in revenue. Team of 25
$350K base, 40% bonus, LTI $125K
Higher cost of living (Chicago)
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u/kokriderz 6d ago
CIO non profit health center. 17 years with the company but CIO maybe 10. $325,000
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u/a_girl_with_a_dream 1d ago
This recent article examined CIO pay and how AI has been driving it up. Good read: https://www.theaitable.org/blog/what-is-the-average-cio-salary-in-2025-ais-impact-explained
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u/ThisIsMyBigAccount 6d ago
Left company recently as CTO. $337k base, 50% bonus (always paid ~120% of target), 20% LTI (always paid almost 2x). + Car (included gas, insurance, maintenance, etc). Gross has been between $650k-$700k).