The 2021 Indigo C-Level Salary Guide provides comprehensive data on compensation packages for top managers in the IT sector, highlighting various factors such as market competition, education, and experience that influence salary levels. Key findings indicate that satisfaction among top managers is highest when salaries are at or above the median of $5,600 and that industries like consulting and fintech offer the highest remuneration. The guide emphasizes the importance of structured salary planning and the role of bonuses in employee motivation.

1. C-LEVEL
2021
SALARY SURVEY

2. Table of contents
1. Welcome to the 2021 Indigo’s C-Level Salary Guide
2. How to Use Our Salary Tables
3. Salary survey: general information about rewards
and compensation packages
4. Conclusion

3. WELCOME
TO THE 2021 INDIGO’s
C-LEVEL SALARY GUIDE

4. Introduction
Forming an effective compensation strategy is not as easy as it appears.
Some managers habitually throw a dollar figure at an employment contract.
However, successful salary planning requires a thorough understanding of factors
that influence the amount required to secure the appropriate talent.
The market for talent in the tech field is tighter than others, heightening
the importance of proper compensation. In addition to salary tables, this salary
guide provides a high-level overview of hiring, a look at employment in IT,
and several key hiring strategies for 2021.

5. About Indigo
Every year we fill dozens of managerial positions and understand the situation on the labor market.
However, accurate data is essential for smart decisions.
C-Level salary information in IT was not enough to make managerial decisions.
We decided to rectify the situation and prepare regular annual salary reviews for top managers
in the IT field.
Our last salary survey showed that this information was beneficial to the IT market.
This year 201 top managers shared information about their income and other types of remuneration
and motivation.
Our biggest thanks to our partner Royallex represented by Vitaliy Luzhentsov for the
competent help with the statistical analysis required for the report.
We hope the content herein will help you in any way.

6. HOW
TO USE OUR
SALARY TABLES

7. How to Use Our Salary Tables
To help hiring managers determine salary levels for new hires, we’ve provided compensation ranges by
percentile, as defined in the information below.
When a manager is establishing a salary, multiple factors come into play. A firm’s compensation
philosophy, the range of other benefits and incentives offered, and the level of competition for
individuals within a particular market all may affect starting salaries. In our report, we also show
information about the compensation package expected by top managers.
Our study presents general information on the wages of top managers.
We plan to release a cycle of articles with a more detailed overview of salaries for individual positions.
- for instance, the salary level of CEO or CTO depending on the scope and type of work of the company,
country of foundation, number of subordinates, as well as education, work experience, and other
factors;
- or level of work satisfaction of CEO or CTO in the company depending on the level of salary,
compensation package, schedule, and so on.
Read us at https://indigo.co.ua/ or subscribe to the newsletter info@indigo.co.ua

8. Definition of positions
Founder and CEO — When the owner/founder is the CEO at the same time.
CEO — Chief Executive Officer and Country Manager and General Manager. The main
position in the company in Ukraine.
CHRO/HRD — Chief Human Resources Officer / Human Resources Director.
GPM — General Product Manager.
CMO — Chief Marketing Officer.
COO — Chief Operating Officer.
CTO — Chief Technical Officer.
CFO — Chief Financial Officer.
Other — Art Director, Head of IT - positions for which insufficient data was provided for
analysis for each position.

9. Definitions
of Terms used in the Survey
The number of incumbents — for each position, the number of employees reported by participants
are presented. The higher the number, the more reliable the results
Deciles — for the purposes of statistical analysis, all the data is organized in ascending order. The lower
decile is the parameter that describes the first 10th percent of the sample.
For example, if there were 100 employees in a CTO position and their salaries were organized in
ascending order, the 10th lowest salary would be the figure for the lower decile.
Correspondingly, the upper decile describes the 90th percent point of the sample (in the above
example — the 90th salary).
Generally speaking, deciles “cut off” the lower and upper 10 percent of the sample. Via this, they
describe the sample more effectively than the minimum and maximum that can sometimes be
misleadingly extreme.
Quartiles — the aforementioned mentioned approach is used with the difference in that quartiles
represent 25th percent (first or lower quartile) and 75th percent (upper quartile) of the sample
respectively, i.e., 25th salary out of 100 and 75th salary out of 100. Quartiles are considered stable and
valid measures. For instance, they represent the middle 50 percent of the sample (i.e., 50 percent of the
salaries are between the first and third quartile).

10. Definitions
of Terms used in the Survey
Median — median represents the salary of the middle employee in the sample (or the average of the
two middle employees if the number of data points in the sample is even). It serves the purpose of
compensation analysis due to its stability.
Median expresses the value that is considered to be “the most representative” for the distribution. The
one-number answer to the question “How much Is an HR Specialist paid?” would be the value of the
median.
Mean — standard arithmetic average calculated as a sum of all the salaries divided by the number of
incumbents. The Average itself is not a good measure because it is highly sensitive to the extreme
minimum and maximum values.
However, it is commonly used together with the median because it serves appropriately as a “control
parameter”, and the comparison of both values provides additional information on the distribution of
the type.

11. SALARY SURVEY:
GENERAL INFORMATION

12. Currency

13. Payment form

14. Work format

15. Salary (without bonus)

16. Salary + Bonus =
Total monthly reward

17. Salary (without bonus).
Median

18. Salary + Bonus =
Total monthly reward. Median

19. Salary (without bonus)

20. Salary + Bonus =
Total monthly reward

21. Satisfaction of top managers,
depending on the level
of total monthly reward.
Here is general data on the remuneration of top managers.
The data shows that top managers are satisfied if their wages are at the median of $ 5,600 and above.
And they are dissatisfied if their earnings are below $ 5,000.

22. Satisfaction of top managers,
depending on the level
of total monthly reward.

23. DEPENDENCE
OF EMPLOYEE REWARDS
ON VARIOUS FACTORS

24. Total monthly reward depending
on company’s sphere of work
The data illustrates that
the largest amount of
information was
obtained in the fields
of Digital,
E-commerce, FinTech
and Banking.
The highest level of
remuneration on
median in Consulting
(mostly outsourcing) –
$7335, than AI/ML –
$6225, FinTech and
Banking – $6000 and
E-Commerce and
MedTech – $5500.

25. Total monthly reward depending
on company’s sphere of work.
Median

26. Total monthly reward depending
on education
Most of the survey participants have higher education.
It looks like managers with an MBA and Secondary school have a higher salary compared
to the rest of the respondents.

27. Total monthly reward depending
on education. Median

28. Total monthly reward depending
on age
The data show that managers' income levels increase with age. We believe that this is due to experience.
Unexpectedly for us, the pay of top managers over 45 years old is less than that of youngest colleagues.

29. Total monthly reward depending
on age. Median
The majority of participants,
(108), surveyed are aged from
30 to 34 years.
The median salary of a top
manager of this age
is $5000.

30. Gender

31. Total monthly reward
depending on gender
The table shows that 188 men and 106 women participated in the survey.
The overwhelming majority of women who occupy managing positions are HR, COO, and СMO.
It is a common situation in the IT field — not many women work as CEOs and CTO in this sphere.
As a result, the difference in payment for men and women differs by about 40%.

32. Total monthly reward
depending on gender. Median

33. Total monthly reward depending
on company’s years on the market
The older the company is, the higher their salaries for top managers.
The highest reward (in the mean) are in companies that have been on the market for more than ten years.

34. Total monthly reward depending
on company’s years on the market.
Mean

35. Total monthly reward depending
on company’s type

36. Total monthly reward depending
on company’s type. Median

37. Total monthly reward depending
on capital type

38. Total monthly reward depending
on capital type. Median

39. Total monthly reward depending
on number of employees
From the presented data it is clear that the larger the company is, (in this case the criteria is the number
of employees), the higher the salaries of top managers are.

40. Total monthly reward depending
on number of employees. Median

41. Total monthly reward depending
on the country of foundation
of the company
Most of our survey participants work for companies founded in Ukraine.
And those who work in companies established in the USA or Europe earn more.

42. Total monthly reward depending
on the country of foundation
of the company. Median

43. Total monthly reward depending
on the company's revenue

44. Total monthly reward depending
on the company's revenue. Median

45. Total monthly reward depending
on the number of subordinates
The data shows that the number of subordinates influences the level of payment for top
managers.

46. Total monthly reward depending
on the number of subordinates. Median

47. Total monthly reward depending
on the number of subordinates. Mean

48. Total monthly reward depending
on the number of years of work in the
IT field

49. Total monthly reward depending
on the number of years of work in the
IT field. Median
A significant part of our
respondents, (131), has been
working in IT for over ten years.
They have the highest income
level – $7000, (median).

50. Total monthly reward depending
on the number of years of work in the
role of top manager

51. Total monthly reward depending
on the number of years of work in the
role of top manager. Median

52. WHAT MOTIVATES
AND DEMOTIVATES
EMPLOYEES?

53. Satisfaction Level

54. Bonuses

55. Bonuses and satisfaction

56. KPIs that affect the bonus

57. Employee job satisfaction,
depending on KPIs

58. C-Level compensation package

59. What motivates C-LEVEL employees

60. What demotivates C-LEVEL employees

61. Employee job satisfaction, depending
on the compensation package

62. Action to increase satisfaction

63. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS

64. 1 2 3
General conclusions
THE HIGHEST
REMUNERATION IS IN
Consulting, AI/ML, FinTech
and Banking, E-Commerce
and MedTech companies
with an income of $ 30
million and 800+
employees, which were
founded in the United
States or Europe 20 or
more years ago.
34% OF TOP MANAGERS
RECEIVE NO BONUS (!). For
most specialists, the bonus is
either annual (31%) or quarterly
(20%) and depends on the
company's profit (36%) and/or
on the total revenue of the
company (34%). The most
satisfied top managers are
those whose bonus depends on
the company's profit. Naturally,
the least motivated managers
are those receiving no bonuses
at all.
THE HIGHEST
REMUNERATION GOES
TO TOP MANAGERS, who
have more than 15
subordinates and more
than 10 years experience in
IT, with a decade’s worth of
experience as a top
manager.

65. 4 5 6
General conclusions
MOST COMPANIES OFFER
TOP MANAGERS A
FLEXIBLE WORK
SCHEDULE (60%), as their
compensation package,
payment for additional
education is in second
place, (46%). This year, most
companies have added
medical insurance to their
benefits package (44%).
THE MOST DEMOTIVATING
FOR TOP MANAGEMENT IS
the lack of freedom in making
and implementing decisions
(67%) and professional growth
(64%). In the third place
insufficient salary level, (60%),
then lack of a culture of trust in
the company, (55%) and open
and friendly corporate culture,
(50%). Lack of ability to balance
work and life (47%) and
incompetent and ineffective
management (43%) are also
demotivating.
THE TOP 3 MOTIVATORS
FOR UPPER MANAGEMENT
are freedom in making and
implementing decisions
(67%), professional growth
(64%), salary level (60%).
Other effective motivators
are a culture of trust in the
company (55%), an open and
friendly corporate culture
(50%), and the ability to
balance the Work-Life (47%).

66. Why do you need
to seek C-level candidates with Indigo?
For us the recruitment process is not
just a search for candidates. We dive
deep into the goals of your business,
help you form the position profile,
understand the correlation with other
roles in your organizational structure,
and provide advice on salaries based on
market analysis.
Triple screening will ensure the
selection of only the most suitable
candidates.
98% of C-LEVEL level candidates hired
by us successfully achieve their goals.
Over the last 3 years we have closed positions
of VP of Business Development in New York,
VP of Propulsion for the space industry in San
Francisco, Head of Digital Marketing in the
UAE and 58 more top-notch top managers.
We find the ideal employee within 60 days.
We have expertise in the following areas:
organizational design, employer branding,
payroll systems, recruitment and adaptation
processes, and other HR issues. We are always
happy to provide advice to our clients.

67. Simply hiring
the right people since 2007.
Indigo delivers.
indigohire.com
Ekaterina Osadchuk, CEO
+38 050 32 69 387
ekaterina-osadchuk
ceo@indigo.co.ua