01 · EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE
The graduate degree is table stakes
79%
Hold a graduate degree — 67% a master’s, 12% a doctorate
76%
Bring more than 20 years of professional experience
$330K
Median base for doctorate holders — vs $270K for bachelor’s
Highest degree earned
Only the doctorate carries a clear premium — master’s and bachelor’s medians converge at $300K — and the spread by education is far narrower than the spread by company size or industry. At this level, the degree opens the door rather than setting the price.
76% of the cohort brings 20+ years. Pay rises only gently with tenure past that mark; fast-tracked executives (under 15 years, n=20, median $237.5K) remain rare — and are paid a band below their tenured peers.
02 · GENDER
The gap runs in opposite directions by level
71% / 27%
Male / female share of VP+ data & AI seats in the sample
+$37.5K
Female median base above male at VP level — the gap flips in the C-suite
$310K
Female median base — vs $300K male
Respondents identifying as non-binary or preferring not to say (n=5 combined) are included in cohort totals but not reported separately, per our n<5 suppression rule.
The cohort-wide figure ($310K female against $300K male) is close to parity, and it is the least useful number on this page. Split by level, the gap runs in opposite directions and largely cancels itself out.
MEDIAN BASE SALARY BY LEVEL AND GENDER
Women at VP level report a median base $37.5K above men in the same level. At SVP/EVP the two medians are identical. In the C-suite men are ahead by $20K. Representation is the starker number either way: women hold 27% of VP+ data & AI seats in this sample.
03 · SCOPE OF ROLE
Big mandates, uneven headcount
Total reports managed (direct + indirect)
Tenure in current seat
26% of these executives manage more than 100 people, and 41% manage more than 50. At the other end, 12% run teams of five or fewer — often newly created AI leadership seats where the mandate precedes the headcount. 20% of the cohort has been in the seat for less than a year; 23% report directly to the CEO or Board, while 66% report to another C-suite executive.