CFO COMPENSATION IN PE-BACKED HVAC SERVICES FIRMS

We analysed compensation data from 39 CFOs operating within Private Equity-backed HVAC Services businesses across North America.
The data is segmented by revenue size to highlight how CFO compensation, bonus structures, and equity participation evolve as businesses scale and professionalise.

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RESPONDENT BREAKDOWN

• 41% from firms backed by PE funds under $500M AUM

• 33% from firms with $50M–$150M revenue

• 26% from firms with over $150M revenue

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BASE SALARY

Firms < $50M Revenue

• Lowest: $100,000

• Median: $215,000

• Highest: $300,000

Firms $50M–$150M Revenue

• Lowest: $200,000

• Median: $275,000

• Highest: $350,000

Firms > $150M Revenue

• Lowest: $260,000

• Median: $325,000

• Highest: $365,000

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BONUS STRUCTURE

• 90% of CFOs at firms < $50M receive a bonus of 50% or less

• 88% of CFOs at firms $50M–$150M receive a bonus of 50% or less

• 79% of CFOs at firms > $150M receive a bonus of 50% or less

Key insight: Bonus targets remain tightly controlled across all revenue bands, reflecting PE’s preference for predictable cash compensation and disciplined incentive structures.

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EQUITY & PROFIT PARTICIPATION

• 58% of CFOs at firms < $50M receive carry or profit/partner share

• 62% of CFOs at firms $50M–$150M receive carry or profit/partner share

• 69% of CFOs at firms > $150M receive carry or profit/partner share

Equity participation increases as businesses scale, particularly where CFOs are expected to play a central role in value creation, M&A integration, debt management, and exit readiness.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Base salary scales steadily with revenue, moving from a $215K median in sub-$50M businesses to $325K in firms exceeding $150M.

• Bonus structures are conservative, with the vast majority of CFOs capped at ≤50% bonus targets across all revenue tiers.

• Equity participation becomes more common in larger platforms, aligning CFO incentives with long-term value creation and exit outcomes.

• Compensation dispersion narrows at scale, indicating increased standardisation once businesses pass the $150M revenue threshold.

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Bottom Line

CFO compensation in PE-backed HVAC services firms is disciplined, scalable, and increasingly equity-aligned.
As revenue grows, CFOs are rewarded less through variable cash and more through ownership, governance influence, and exit participation.

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Looking to benchmark CFO compensation or hire a proven finance leader for your HVAC portfolio company?
Connect with mohammed.vali@raw-selection.com.

Raw Selection | De-Risking Executive Search for Private Equity firms across Europe & North America

All insights in this salary report are derived from Raw Selection’s proprietary data.