The typical tech leader’s pay rose $810k since 2021—more than COOs, CFOs, and CIOs combined

Technology leaders have spent nearly four years evangelizing about the ways AI will change every aspect of work life.

One of the most measurable changes so far however has been to tech chiefs’ own paychecks.

Median reported compensation for executives with “technology” in the title reached $2.6 million in the most recent fiscal year, up a whopping 45.4% from 2021, according to data compiled for Fortune by executive pay analytics firm C-suite Comp.

The rising pay for tech execs was leagues above what their peers in the C-suite saw, with median compensation increasing 18.3% for COOs, 17.2% for CEOs, 15% for CFOs, and 9.2% for chief information officers.

The gain was larger in dollars, too, which is even more unusual.

Median pay for chief technology officers rose $809,587 from 2021 to 2025 while median pay for CEOs—typically the C-suite leader most likely to reap massive pay rewards—only rose $698,399.

And that was from a starting point twice as high as CTOs.

Operating, finance, and information chiefs gained $725,584 among all three roles combined at the median.

“Strategic CTOs are a real value-add for these companies,” said Dan Laddin, founding partner at consulting firm Compensation Advisory Partners who advises boards on pay programs.

“So people who can do that, and lead that side of the business—you are seeing a dramatic increase.” (function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})(); Telehealth platform Hims & Hers showed its pay priorities in a series of compensation moves last year.

In May 2025, the Hims & Hers board approved two new-hire awards for incoming C-suite executives.

The award to the new COO, Nader Kabbani, was 216,333 restricted stock units (RSUs) valued at $13.5 million.

The award to Mohamed Elshenawy, the incoming CTO, was 1,036,339 RSUs valued at $57.2 million—more than four times as much. (Kabbani left Hims & Hers six months later.) The board explained the difference in its annual proxy report to shareholders.

“Competition for experienced talent in the AI space during 2025 was intense,” the report states, noting that Elshenawy’s award reflected the “unique competitive circumstances for AI talent” when he was hired.