Executive and Board Pay Trends Reflect Shifting Priorities in a Complex Economy

Executive and board compensation practices remain under close scrutiny as companies contend with economic uncertainty, regulatory changes, and increasing demands for transparency from shareholders, investors, and employees. Organizations must balance the need to align pay with shareholder value creation while continuing to attract and retain top senior leaders. This year’s trends show modest increases in CEO pay, stronger growth for CFOs, and notable gains in board compensation, reflecting the ongoing complexity of the compensation landscape.

The BDO 600 examines compensation plans and pay levels of 600 mid-market public companies — a unique feature, as most compensation studies focus on much larger companies. The study is broken into two reports, CEO and CFO Compensation and Board Director Compensation, and includes comparisons by company size and industry.

Event

Month D, YYYY

City
Address

Download the Reports

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

CEO and CFO Compensation

Amid ongoing economic and regulatory uncertainty companies continued to adjust executive pay packages. While compensation increases persisted, they were more modest for CEOs, with CFOs seeing more substantial gains. According to our study, in fiscal year 2024:

CEO total direct compensation increased by an average of 2.3%

CFO total direct compensation increased by an average of 5.8%

Board Director Compensation

As board members continue to navigate complex governance and oversight responsibilities, companies are seeking directors who can provide strategic guidance in a rapidly evolving environment. These rising expectations are reflected in compensation trends. According to our study, in fiscal year 2024:

Director compensation increased by an average of 7.7% from 2022 to 2024; annualized growth is 3.8%

Directors were paid 38% in cash and 62% in equity

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.

Download the Full Reports

Methodology

These reports focus on pay levels as reported in 2025 proxies, which include data between April 2024 and March 2025. While a snapshot in time, The BDO 600 Study can be a useful benchmarking resource to compare compensation practices to public companies in a similar industry and size range. For private companies planning to go public, or those that compete directly with public companies for talent, these studies provide insight into the structure of public company executive compensation packages, which can vary greatly from that of a private company.

Looking for private company benchmarking data?
Check out Key Takeaways from BDO's 2024 Private Company Executive Compensation Survey