How are private companies structuring executive pay to compete for talent?
Private companies are navigating a difficult balancing act: controlling compensation costs while still attracting and retaining executive talent. Yet with limited, reliable private-company benchmarking data available, many organizations are left pressure-testing decisions with public-company proxies or making decisions without clear market benchmarks.
BDO’s 2025 Private Company Executive Compensation Survey Insights Report provides a clearer view into how private companies set and deliver executive pay across ownership structures and incentive approaches. The survey captured compensation data – including salary, bonus and long-term incentives – for CEOs, CFOs, COOs and top sales/marketing executives. This insights report distills key findings and practical takeaways that can be used to help inform program design and pay levels. Download the report to explore:
- Key drivers of executive pay, such as size, industry, location, and ownership type
- Executive pay relative to that of the CEO
- How executive pay varies by ownership, including family-owned, ESOP, and private equity-backed
- How to calibrate pay using benchmarking data
