Mike McNamara, CIO and EVP of Target receives a base salary of $468,482 per year but stock options and other compensation could boost his total earning to over $10 million annually.
But most CIOs are not McNamara and their pay is decidedly more modest. Women CIOs, in particular, get the short end of the stick.
Samantha Ann Schwartz sheds light on CIO pay in this report from CIODive:
However, CIOs making upwards of a few million dollars every year are an exception. The average CIO, in the 25th percentile where most CIOs fall, earns about $171,750, or less than half of McNamara’s salary, according to a Robert Half report.
The next tier, the 50th percentile, earns a salary of about $205,250 in the U.S. The 50th percentile CIOs “will likely be of average complexity” or in a market with moderate talent competition, according to the report. CIOs in the 95th percentile, earn a salary of about $293,000, with the expectation of having specialized certificates.
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Large corporations, like Target, often see the value in technology before other smaller businesses. Their CIO compensation reflects that. A handsome salary in tech is dependent on a list of factors, including level of authority and gender. As the roles decline from the title CIO position, so do salaries. Women CIOs make about 30% less than their male counterparts, though the pay disparity among CTOs was only 1%.
