IT execs losing ground on compensation, salary study says

For those who make it to the top of the IT ladder, the pay can be great. But most IT executives are losing ground as a result of the economic recession, according to a new report released today by Janco Associates Inc.

Janco, a Park City, Utah-based IT consulting firm that conducts salary surveys, said it found that the mean compensation for CIOs in large enterprises is now US$168,839, a 6.11% decrease from a similar study it issued a year ago. In midsize organizations, the current average is $163,211, a drop-off of nearly 5%, said Janco, which cited reductions in bonuses and fringe benefits for the compensation declines.

The firm collected data from 231 organizations and culled information from filings submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission . As part of its report, Janco also compiled a list of some of the most highly paid people working in IT, although several of the people on the list have multiple responsibilities at their companies ? while others have taken new jobs since the compensation data was publicly reported. The list is based on information available as of last summer and covers the preceding 12 months, Janco said.

The highest-paid executive that Janco found is Jeffrey Fox , chief operating officer at Alltel Corp., a Little Rock, Ark.-based telecommunications firm. Fox, whose responsibilities include IT, network services and enterprise security, has an annual salary of $673,000 and total compensation of just over $9 million, Janco said.

Second on the consulting firm's list is Robert Willett , CEO of Best Buy Co.'s international business unit with worldwide responsibility for the retailer's information systems. Janco said that Willett's salary is $623,000 and that other compensation raised his total intake to nearly $8.6 million.

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