Welcome to our 2024 Private Equity–Backed Chief Executive Officer Compensation Survey, which gathered compensation data on 518 CEOs from Canada, continental Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States. We explore compensation trends for CEOs looking at demographics, organizational structure, and compensation for these professionals.

This report is part of a long-standing series of compensation surveys focusing on private equity investment and operating professionals and PE-backed chief financial officers. The goal of the reports is to help create a comprehensive picture of the compensation that key executives are currently receiving in PE firms and portfolio companies. 

We hope you enjoy reading the report, and we welcome suggestions, so please feel free to contact us with questions and comments.

About the authors

Jeff Sanders (jsanders@heidrick.com) is a vice chairman in the Stamford, New York, and San Francisco offices and co-managing partner of the CEO & Board of Directors Practice.  

Stephen Schwanhausser (sschwanhausser@heidrick.com) is a partner in Heidrick & Struggles’ Stamford office and the co-global managing partner of the Private Equity Practice.