Key Findings

  • Executives focused on technology and human resources have seen their pay and status rise this decade as corporate boards race to find leaders for digital transformation, the Conference Board reported Tuesday.
  • Among Russell 3000 companies, chief technology officers (CTOs) and chief human resources officers (CHROs) appeared onlists of the five highest-paid executivessignificantly more often. From 2021 to 2025, the number of CTOs and CHROs on such lists surged by 61% and 55%, respectively, according to the Conference Board.
  • "The growth of the CHRO and CTO roles shows that talent, culture, and digital capabilities are now viewed as enterprise risks rather than support functions," Andrew Jones, the report's co-author and chief researcher at the Conference Board, said in a statement. "Boards are prioritizing leaders who can shape resilience and transformation across the organization," he added.

Deeper Insights

While rewarding executives with high-demand skills, the race to deploy artificial intelligence and other digital technologies is also boosting GDP growth. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis noted in a January report that AI and its supporting information processing equipment category contributed0.97 percentage pointsto economic growth in the first nine months of 2025, surpassing the contribution of technology during the 2000 internet boom.

"As firms continue to integrate AI into their operations and build the infrastructure needed to support it, these categories are likely to remain a significant driver of investment in 2026 and beyond," St. Louis Fed researchers said.

While executives leading the AI wave see pay increases, lower-level employees may facestagnant or declining compensation, CFO Dive has reported.

A ResumeBuilder.com survey of 866 business leaders found that more than half of U.S. companies are cutting or planning to cut employee compensation to free upfunds for AI investments. As of the end of 2025, 54% of companies had reduced employee pay, and 26% had laid off workers to fund AI projects, according toResumeBuilder.com's survey findings. Pay cuts are not limited to base salaries but also affect raises, benefits, bonuses, and equity or stock awards. The company surveyed 866 U.S. business leaders.

The Conference Board also found that among Russell 3000 companies, executives in legal-focused roles, such as chief legal officers, corporate secretaries, or general counsels, appearing on executive pay lists rose 21% from 2021 to 2025. The rise in status of legal executives "suggests that regulation, litigation, and corporate risk are becoming central to executive decision-making," said Dana Etra, managing director at FW Cook. "As governance and compliance pressures increase, boards are bringing legal leaders more closely into the center of power," Etra said in a statement.

However, mentions of division executives or subsidiary presidents fell 15% between 2021 and 2025, the Conference Board said.