Carlyle’s annual Salary Survey, in partnership with digital industry trade body ScotlandIS, has revealed that the Scottish economy was able to attract and support significant investment into scaling technology businesses in Scotland.
The executive search firm's research focused on the remuneration of c-suite executives in Scotland, comparing base salary and equity levels at various stages of funding.
It revealed that while an average base salary increase of 16% was achieved across all sectors, the figure rose to 23% within scaling technology companies.
There was a strong correlation between base salary and the stage of funding achieved. Of those surveyed, the average base salary for a chief executive was £71,000 at seed investment, £111,000 at Series A, £164,000 at Series B, and £172,000 at Series C.
Chief executives did not always have the highest salary in their respective organisation, but consistently had the most equity, at 89%, followed by chief technology officers (72%), chief operational officers (50%), chief financial officers (44%) and chief commercial officers (39%).
Karen Meechan, chief executive of ScotlandIS, said: “The data shows that we have a maturing tech ecosystem that is competitive against other tech hubs - in London, the rest of the UK, and internationally - in terms of attracting and retaining c-suite talent.
“There is now a genuine network of like-minded peers for execs to tap into - we can’t afford to be complacent though, as leadership talent will always have the option of working elsewhere, particularly with hybrid working models.”
Fiona James-Martin, partner at Carlyle, said: “2021 demonstrated that there were encouraging levels of investment in innovation during pandemic times, and in Scotland we are seeing increasing levels of investment into the high growth technology sector from regions like North America, Europe and Asia.
“These dynamics, coupled with increasing demand for skillsets in this area, are contributing towards increases in salaries across the board.”
The chief executive was also the founder of the companies surveyed in 71% of cases, while in relation to gender balance, 81% of chief executives are male, compared to 19% being female.
With regards to gender diversity, the survey found that 80% of chief operating officers and 67% of chief financial officers are male, while only 9% of chief commercial officers and 6% of chief technology officers are female.
In terms of the gender pay gap, there was a 24% difference in average base salary between the male and female executives surveyed.
The average base salary for a female c-suite executive was £91,700 - compared to £113,900 for a male counterparts.
Fraser Lyle, principal at Carlyle, said: “Achieving gender diversity continues to be a challenge across scaling technology businesses in Scotland.
“The gender pay gap is well documented across all sectors and the survey results show scaling technology businesses in Scotland are not immune, so we all must continue to play our part in achieving parity in pay across this sector and all others.”
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