Welcome to the 2019 Indigo’s C-Level Salary Guide. 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 2020.

1. SALARY SURVEY
C-LEVEL
2019

2. Table of contents
1. Welcome to the 2019 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 2019
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 2020.

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 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 — CIO, Art Director - positions for which insufficient data was provided for analysis for each position.

9. Definitions of Terms used in the Survey
Number of incumbents - for each position, the number of employees reported by participants is 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. 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 as a stable and valid measure, for instance they represent the middle 50
percent of the sample (i.e., 50 percent of the salaries are between 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.
From this table, it is clear that one can be completely satisfied receiving $5150, (median), or satisfied with $4000, (median),
and rather dissatisfied with $4500, (median). However, there's more to a job than the salary.
Next, we'll look at other factors.

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 these areas is $5000
in E-Commerce and
FinTech and Banking.
If not taking into account
the amount of data, (5
people), the same
remuneration per median
is in the field of
Blockchain.

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 Ph.D. have a slightly higher salary compared to the rest of the
respondents.

27. Total monthly reward depending on education. Median

28. Age

29. Total monthly reward depending on age
The data show that managers' income levels increase with age.
We believe that this is due to experience.

30. Total monthly reward depending on age. Median
The majority of participants,
(117), surveyed are aged
from 31 to 40 years.
The median salary of a top
manager of this age
is $5000.

31. Gender

32. Total monthly reward depending on gender
The table shows that 140 men and 61 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 34% - 40%.

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 table shows that in startups, (from 1 to 3 years), the median salary level is relatively high. Overall, the salary range is
extensive.
There are two reasons for this:
1. In startups, the processes of remuneration are not yet built, and the decisions concerning salaries are dealt with situationally.
2. Attracting talent to a startup is not so simple, and sometimes a higher salary is your only bait.

34. Total monthly reward depending on gender. Median

35. Total monthly reward depending on company’s
years on the market. Median

36. Total monthly reward depending on company’s type

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

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 number of employees. Mean

42. 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 Canada earn more.

43. Total monthly reward depending on the country
of foundation of the company

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

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

46. 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.
A significant jump in salary occurs after eight subordinates.

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

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

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

50. Total monthly reward depending on the number
of years of work in the IT field. Median
A significant part of our
respondents, (61), has been
working in IT for over ten years.
They have the highest income
level - $7000, (median).

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

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

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

54. What motivates
and demotivates
employees?

55. Satisfaction Level

56. BONUSES

57. BONUSES AND SATISFACTION

58. KPIs that affect the bonus

59. Employee job satisfaction, depending on KPIs

60. What motivates C-LEVEL employees

61. C-Level compensation package

62. What demotivates C-LEVEL employees

63. Employee job satisfaction, depending on the compensation package

64. Action to increase satisfaction

65. General
conclusions

66. General conclusions
The highest
remuneration is at
e-commerce and
FinTech companies with
an income of $ 50
million and 800+
employees, which were
founded in the United
States or Canada 10 or
more years ago.
38.3% of top managers receive no bonus
(!). For most specialists the bonus is
either annual, (31.3%), or monthly,
(24.9%), and depends on the company's
profit, (43.8%), and/or on the total
revenue of the company, (30.35%). 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.
01 02
The highest
remuneration goes to
top managers with an
MBA or Ph.D, who have
more than 8
subordinates and more
than 10 years experience
in IT, with a decade’s
worth of experience as a
top manager.
03

67. General conclusions
Most companies offer top
managers a flexible work
schedule, (54.7%), as their
compensation package,
payment for additional
education is in second
place, (31.3%), and
payment or compensation
of sports activities comes
in third, (21.9%).
The most demotivating for
top-management is lack of work-life
balance, (44,3%) and insufficient
salary level, (41,8%), also with lack of
professional growth, (40.3%),
incompetent and ineffective
management of the company,
(37.3%), as well as freedom in
making and implementing decisions,
(37.3%).
04 05
The top 3 motivators for
upper management are:
professional growth, (65.7%),
salary level, (62.7%), and
freedom in making and
implementing decisions,
(61.19%). Other effective
motivators are a culture of
trust in the company, (49.2%),
a flexible schedule, (45.3%)
and competent, effective
management of the
company, (41.8%).
06

68. 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 38 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.

69. Simply hiring the right people since 2007. Indigo delivers.
+380 50 32 69 387
ceo@indigo.co.ua
indigohire.com
Ekaterina Osadchuk, CEO
kosadchuk
ekaterina-osadchuk