A new Salary Survey has found that C-suite salaries in Scotland grew last year, with scaling tech companies seeing the most growth.

According to the data, the average C-suite base salary increased by 16% across all sectors in 2021. For scaling tech companies, this rose to 23%.

The Salary Survey was conducted by executive search specialists Carlyle in partnership with industry trade body ScotlandIS.

The investigation explored the salaries of C-suite executives in high growth technology businesses in Scotland, comparing base salary and equity levels at various stages of funding.

Within every vertical surveyed, there was a strong correlation between base salary and the stage of funding achieved. Of those surveyed, the average base salary for a CEO was £71,000 at seed investment, £111,000 at Series A, £164,000 at Series B, and £172,000 at Series C.

CEOs surveyed didn’t always have the highest salary in their respective organisation but consistently had the most equity. The survey found that 89% of CEOs have equity, followed by CTOs (72%), COOs (50%), CFOs (44%), and CCOs (39%).

CEO of ScotlandIS Karen Meechan 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 C-suite 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.”

It is estimated that approximately £650 million of investment was secured by Scottish fast growth technology companies in 2021.

Partner at Carlyle Fiona James-Martin 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.

“These findings are not a surprise to us, given the influx of investment we have seen in technology over the last year with larger exit multiples and larger funding rounds being achieved.”

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However, the findings also noted a gender pay gap of 24% in average base salary between the male and female C-suite executives surveyed.

According to the survey, the average base salary for a female C-suite executive was £91,700, compared to £113,900 for a male C-suite executive.

In addition, 81% of CEOs are male compared to 19% being female. With regards to gender diversity, the survey found that 80% of COOs and 67% of CFOs are male, while only 9% of CCOs and 6% of CTOs are female.

Carlyle Principal Fraser Lyle 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.

“We all must continue to play our part in achieving parity in pay across this sector and all others.”

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