25 Top-Paid Research Institute Leaders

Following is a list of 25 current or former senior executives of independent nonprofit research institutes, ranked by total compensation for the most recent two years such information was available as furnished by Form 990s filed annually by each institution with the Internal Revenue Service and made public through Guidestar.org and Foundation Center. In most cases, the most recent years available were fiscal years ending in 2011 and 2010. In isolated cases, no new Form 990s had been made public since last year.

Unlike the first edition of this list last year, the percent change in annual pay for each executive was listed. Perhaps reflecting continued pressure on the institutions and other nonprofits to account for executive pay, 10 of the top 25 compensated executives listed either received below-inflation-rate raises, or were paid less than the previous year.

However, another 10 executives listed saw double- or triple-digit pay raises, some of which included severance or payments from organizations related to the research institutions. In four cases, double- and triple-digit raises followed a promotion or extra responsibilities added on an interim basis.

Also unlike last year, the list was expanded beyond CEOs to include other senior-level executives, such as executive vice presidents, board chairs, and C-suite officers. The expansion explains why the top 11 highest-paid executives in this year’s list received total pay exceeding $1 million, compared with the top four CEOs in the 2012 list.

Executives on the list come from 13 research institutions. HHMI alone accounted for eight people, followed by Sanford-Burnham, Stowers, and the J. William Gladstone Institutes (two each), and one each for the other institutions. In some cases the listed chief executives have been succeeded by others; such leadership changes are detailed in footnotes. FY denotes fiscal year; CY denotes calendar year.

Following is a list of 25 current or former senior executives of independent nonprofit research institutes, ranked by total compensation for the most recent two years such information was available as furnished by Form 990s filed annually by each institution with the Internal Revenue Service and made public through Guidestar.org and Foundation Center. In most cases, the most recent years available were fiscal years ending in 2011 and 2010. In isolated cases, no new Form 990s had been made public since last year.

Unlike the first edition of this list last year, the percent change in annual pay for each executive was listed. Perhaps reflecting continued pressure on the institutions and other nonprofits to account for executive pay, 10 of the top 25 compensated executives listed either received below-inflation-rate raises, or were paid less than the previous year.

However, another 10 executives listed saw double- or triple-digit pay raises, some of which included severance or payments from organizations related to the research institutions. In four cases, double- and triple-digit raises followed a promotion or extra responsibilities added on an interim basis.

Also unlike last year, the list was expanded beyond CEOs to include other senior-level executives, such as executive vice presidents, board chairs, and C-suite officers. The expansion explains why the top 11 highest-paid executives in this year’s list received total pay exceeding $1 million, compared with the top four CEOs in the 2012 list.

Executives on the list come from 13 research institutions. HHMI alone accounted for eight people, followed by Sanford-Burnham, Stowers, and the J. William Gladstone Institutes (two each), and one each for the other institutions. In some cases the listed chief executives have been succeeded by others; such leadership changes are detailed in footnotes. FY denotes fiscal year; CY denotes calendar year.

Following is a list of 25 current or former senior executives of independent nonprofit research institutes, ranked by total compensation for the most recent two years such information was available as furnished by Form 990s filed annually by each institution with the Internal Revenue Service and made public through Guidestar.org and Foundation Center. In most cases, the most recent years available were fiscal years ending in 2011 and 2010. In isolated cases, no new Form 990s had been made public since last year.

Unlike the first edition of this list last year, the percent change in annual pay for each executive was listed. Perhaps reflecting continued pressure on the institutions and other nonprofits to account for executive pay, 10 of the top 25 compensated executives listed either received below-inflation-rate raises, or were paid less than the previous year.

However, another 10 executives listed saw double- or triple-digit pay raises, some of which included severance or payments from organizations related to the research institutions. In four cases, double- and triple-digit raises followed a promotion or extra responsibilities added on an interim basis.

Also unlike last year, the list was expanded beyond CEOs to include other senior-level executives, such as executive vice presidents, board chairs, and C-suite officers. The expansion explains why the top 11 highest-paid executives in this year’s list received total pay exceeding $1 million, compared with the top four CEOs in the 2012 list.

Executives on the list come from 13 research institutions. HHMI alone accounted for eight people, followed by Sanford-Burnham, Stowers, and the J. William Gladstone Institutes (two each), and one each for the other institutions. In some cases the listed chief executives have been succeeded by others; such leadership changes are detailed in footnotes. FY denotes fiscal year; CY denotes calendar year.