CEO Compensation Benchmark Report

We analysed compensation data from 120 CEOs operating within the Aerospace & Defense industry across North America.

The data is segmented by company revenue to illustrate how CEO compensation, bonus structures, and equity participation evolve as aerospace and defense businesses scale. All findings are derived directly from the submitted compensation data. Records with missing or undisclosed information were excluded from the applicable calculations.

RESPONDENT BREAKDOWN

• 50.0% from firms with under $50M revenue
• 34.2% from firms with $50M–$150M revenue
• 9.2% from firms with over $150M revenue
• 6.7% from firms with $500M–$1BN revenue

Data Observation: Of the 151 CEO records in the dataset, 120 provided sufficient revenue information to be assigned to one of the requested revenue categories. The remaining 31 records did not include sufficient revenue information and were excluded from the revenue-based analysis.

 

---

 

BASE SALARY

Firms Under $50M Revenue

• Lowest: $28,500
• Median: $292,500
• Highest: $500,000

Firms $50M–$150M Revenue

• Lowest: $185,000
• Median: $317,000
• Highest: $525,000

Firms Over $150M Revenue

• Lowest: $205,000
• Median: $400,000
• Highest: $600,000

Firms $500M–$1BN Revenue

• Lowest: $220,000
• Median: $412,500
• Highest: $500,000

Key Insight

CEO base salaries generally increase as Aerospace & Defense companies grow, reflecting expanding responsibility for enterprise strategy, operational leadership, government and commercial contract oversight, capital allocation, mergers and acquisitions, risk management, and long-term value creation. Median CEO base salary increases from $292,500 among companies generating under $50M in annual revenue to $400,000 among companies generating over $150M annually. The highest reported CEO base salary in this benchmark is $600,000, observed among companies generating over $150M in annual revenue.

BONUS STRUCTURE

• 75.0% of CEOs at firms under $50M receive a bonus of 50% of base salary or less
• 75.0% of CEOs at firms $50M–$150M receive a bonus of 50% of base salary or less
• 60.0% of CEOs at firms over $150M receive a bonus of 50% of base salary or less
• 42.9% of CEOs at firms $500M–$1BN receive a bonus of 50% of base salary or less

Key Insight

Performance-based incentive structures remain a core component of CEO compensation across the Aerospace & Defense industry. Most disclosed target bonus plans are structured at 50% of base salary or less, reinforcing the emphasis on rewarding revenue growth, operational performance, contract execution, EBITDA achievement, strategic expansion, and long-term enterprise value. While target bonus opportunities vary across revenue segments, incentive compensation continues to align CEO performance with shareholder and investor objectives.

Data Observation: Bonus calculations are based only on records that disclosed a quantifiable target annual bonus percentage. Records with unknown, discretionary, narrative-only, or undisclosed bonus information were excluded from this analysis.

EQUITY PARTICIPATION

• 71.7% of CEOs at firms under $50M receive equity or an equity equivalent
• 68.3% of CEOs at firms $50M–$150M receive equity or an equity equivalent
• 72.7% of CEOs at firms over $150M receive equity or an equity equivalent
• 75.0% of CEOs at firms $500M–$1BN receive equity or an equity equivalent

Key Insight

Long-term incentive programs remain an important component of CEO compensation throughout the Aerospace & Defense industry. Equity, stock options, phantom equity, profit interests, RSUs, LTIPs, and similar ownership-based incentive structures are widely used to align CEOs with long-term enterprise value, operational performance, and shareholder returns. Equity participation is highest among CEOs leading companies generating $500M–$1BN in annual revenue, where 75.0% receive an equity or equity-equivalent incentive.

Data Observation: Equity participation rates are based solely on records that explicitly disclosed whether a CEO received an equity or equity-equivalent incentive. Records without sufficient equity information were excluded from the applicable calculations.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The largest proportion of benchmarked CEOs (50.0%) lead Aerospace & Defense companies generating under $50M in annual revenue.

Median CEO base salary generally increases as company revenue grows, rising from $292,500 among firms under $50M to $400,000 among companies generating over $150M annually.

The highest reported CEO base salary is $600,000, observed among companies generating over $150M in annual revenue.

Most disclosed CEO incentive plans provide target bonuses of 50% of base salary or less, particularly among companies generating less than $150M in annual revenue.

Equity participation is prevalent across all revenue segments and is highest among CEOs at companies generating $500M–$1BN in annual revenue, where 75.0% receive an equity or equity-equivalent incentive.

Data Observation: Revenue, bonus, and equity analyses include only records with sufficient disclosed information. No estimates or assumptions were used in producing these benchmark results.

BOTTOM LINE

CEO compensation within the Aerospace & Defense industry reflects the increasingly strategic role executive leaders play as organizations expand and operate in highly regulated, capital-intensive markets. Beyond setting corporate strategy, CEOs are responsible for driving profitable growth, overseeing government and commercial contracts, navigating complex manufacturing and supply chain environments, allocating capital effectively, leading mergers and acquisitions, managing organizational risk, and creating long-term enterprise value.

While base salary generally increases alongside company size, performance-based bonuses and long-term incentive programs remain integral components of CEO compensation across the sector. Equity participation is consistently high across all revenue groups, underscoring the importance of aligning executive leadership with long-term business performance and shareholder value creation. As with any compensation benchmark, disclosure levels vary between respondents, particularly for bonus and equity information. Accordingly, all reported statistics are based solely on the available compensation data and do not include estimates or assumptions.

 

---

Looking to benchmark CEO compensation or hire a CEO for your portfolio company?

Connect with Raw Selection.

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.