IT executive salary increased 1.9% in 2003

The average base salary for IT executives increased 1.9% in 2003. Base salaries increased 2.9% in 2002 and 7.9% from 2000 to 2001, according to the study by J. Robert Scott, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr and Ernst & Young. Salaries of executives at the high end of the pay scale, however, increased more dramatically. Those in the top quartile received average total cash compensation increases of 18%. Chief executive officers, chief operating officers and sales chiefs each enjoyed a 27% jump in total cash. The average bonus across all positions and segments increased by 15.6%. Over the past four years, the percentage of bonus-to-cash compensation has steadily risen, to 21.9%, up from 15.7% in 2001 and 19.3% in 2002.