Superstar CIOs See Bigger Paydays

Baseline's annual study of public company financial documents finds that the compensation packages of the best-paid 46 technology executives rose again. (Baselinemag.com)

Theres no sure formula for measuring the worth of a CIO. But we can gawk at what some superstars get paid.

Baselines 2006 CIO compensation ranking shows that most of the 46 technology executives on the list got fatter wallets last year.

Twenty-seven of them saw their total compensation increase in 2005 compared with 2004.

"The markets up and things are more competitive than they were last year," said Paul Groce, a partner at executive recruiting firm Christian & Timbers.

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"For chief executives and boards to attract world-class CIOs, they need to understand good CIOs are not inexpensive and theyre hard to find," added Groce, who specializes in placing senior technology leaders.

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There are probably CIOs out there who make more than the men and women on the 2006 list, but they dont earn enough to be included in their companies annual corporate proxy statement. The Securities and Exchange Commission requires public companies to report the compensation of their five highest-paid officers.

For the past five years, Baseline has studied the proxies of the 1,000 largest U.S. firms to assemble the list of elite CIOs.

The top 10 collectively last year earned $50 million, led by $10.3 million man Randy Mott. Hewlett-Packard lured Mott away from his CIO post at Dell last year to help Hewlett-Packards new chief executive, Mark Hurd, streamline the company to boost profits. (HP declined a request to interview Mott for this story.)

Mott is something of a rock star in technology circles. He spent 22 years at Wal-Mart, leaving as the retailers CIO in 2000. Then, for five years he was CIO of Dell, which, like Wal-Mart, is known for inventive use of technology to create efficient supply chains.

Groce noted that the New York Yankees Randy Johnson will make more than $15 million this year, "but I daresay Randy Mott will have a greater impact on his respective business in general."

HP is a prime example of an organization "inherently dependent on IT," Groce said, meaning the company values—i.e., pays—its CIO accordingly.

Read the full story on Baselinemag.com: Superstar CIOs See Bigger Paydays

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