Alex Philippidis Senior News Editor Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News
Who in academia is raking it in this 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.
#25. Leland (Lee) H. Hartwell, Ph.D.1
Title: President and Director, 1997–20101
Institution: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
FY ending June 30, 2011: $634,1831,2
FY ending June 30, 2010: $722,0111
% Change: -12.2%
#24. J. Craig Venter, Ph.D.
Title: Founder, Chairman, and CEO
Institution: J. Craig Venter Institute
2011 calendar year: $648,539
2010 calendar year: $645,929
% Change: 0.4%
#23. Richard Hille
Title: Former Executive Director3
Institution: The J. David Gladstone Institutes
2011 calendar year: $699,6534
2010 calendar year: $372,153
% Change: 88.0%
#22. Charles Hewett, Ph.D.
Title: EVP and COO; Interim leader overseeing all administrative, operating, and mouse resources activities and services, 2011–2012
Institution: The Jackson Laboratory
Seven months ending December 31, 2011: $719,2735,6
FY ending May 31, 2011: $599,9945
% Change: 19.9%
#21. Bruce Stillman, Ph.D.
Title: President
Institution: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
2011 calendar year: $745,552
2010 calendar year: $751,839
% Change: -0.8%
#20. Gerald M. Rubin, Ph.D.
Title: VP and Executive Director, Janelia Farm Research Campus
Institution: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
FY ending August 31, 2012: $782,366
FY ending August 31, 2011: $801,717
% Change: -2.4%
#19. Jack E. Dixon, Ph.D.
Title: VP and CSO, 2007–20137
Institution: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
FY ending August 31, 2012: $808,290
FY ending August 31, 2011: $794,421
% Change: 1.7%
#18. Eric S. Lander, Ph.D.
Title: Founding Director and Director of the Genome Biology Program
Institution: Broad Institute
FY ending June 30, 2011: $818,876
FY ending June 30, 2010: $712,468
% Change: 14.9%
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.
#17. R. Sanders Williams, M.D.
Title: President
Institution: The J. David Gladstone Institutes
2011 calendar year: $851,894
2010 calendar year: $862,505
% Change: -1.2%
#16. Sean B. Carroll, Ph.D.
Title: VP for Science Education
Institution: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
FY ending August 31, 2012: $886,4768
FY ending August 31, 2011: $362,2388
% Change: 144.7%
#15. Richard A. Pender
Title: Managing Director, Global Equities
Institution: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
FY ending August 31, 2012: $923,731
FY ending August 31, 2011: $858,787
% Change: 7.6%
#14. Cheryl A. Moore
Title: EVP and COO
Institution: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
FY ending August 31, 2012: $940,87810
FY ending August 31, 2011: $684,40911
% Change: 37.5%
#13. William R. Brody, M.D., Ph.D.
Title: President
Institution: The Salk Institute for Biological Studies
FY ending June 30, 2012: $946,823
FY ending June 30, 2011: $951,743
% Change: -0.5%
#12. Thomas R. Cech, Ph.D.
Title: Investigator
Institution: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
FY ending August 31, 2012: $985,112
FY ending August 31, 2011: $1,000,204
% Change: -1.5%
#11. Kristiina Vuori, M.D., Ph.D.
Title: President and Interim CEO12
Institution: Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute
FY ending September 30, 2011: $1,011,753
FY ending September 30, 2010: $522,93312
% Change: 193.5%
#10. David A. Welte
Title: EVP and General Counsel
Institution: Stowers Institute for Medical Research
2011 calendar year: $1,032,41413
2010 calendar year: $966,46313
% Change: 6.8%
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.
#9. David M. Chao, Ph.D.
Title: President and CEO
Institution: Stowers Institute for Medical Research
2011 calendar year: $1,180,91613
2010 calendar year: $1,006,40813
% Change: 17.3%
#8. Robert Tjian, Ph.D.
Title: President
Institution: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
FY ending August 31, 2012: $1,199,437
FY ending August 31, 2011: $1,143,070
% Change: 4.9%
#7. Roderick L. Sturgeon
Title: EVP and CFO
Institution: Stowers Institute for Medical Research
2011 calendar year: $1,209,82113
2010 calendar year: $1,149,15413
% Change: 5.3%
#6. Stephen M. Prescott, M.D.
Title: President
Institution: Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
FY ending June 30, 2012: $1,249,438
FY ending June 30, 2011: $1,059,638
% Change: 17.9%
#5. Jeffrey M. Trent, Ph.D.
Title: President and Scientific Director
Institution: Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen)
FY ending November 30, 2011: $1,346,435
FY ending November 30, 2010: $1,063,599
% Change: 26.6%
#4. Landis Zimmerman
Title: VP and Chief Investment Officer
Institution: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
FY ending August 31, 2012: $1,357,181
FY ending August 31, 2011: $1,134,467
% Change: 19.6%
#3. Richard A. Lerner, M.D.14
Title: President and CEO, 1991–201214; Researcher, Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, 2012–present Also served as director of predecessor organization, 1987–1991
Institution: The Scripps Research Institute
FY ending September 30, 2011: $1,370,494
FY ending September 30, 2010: $1,370,328
% Change: 0.01%
#2. John C. Reed, M.D., Ph.D.
Title: CEO, 2010-2013; President and CEO, 2002–201015
Institution: Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute
FY ending June 30, 2011: $1,476,406
FY ending June 30, 2010: $1,561,725
% Change: -5.5%
#1. Richard W. Brown
Title: Chairman, Board of Directors
Institution: Stowers Institute for Medical Research
2011 calendar year: $1,780,90213
2010 calendar year: $1,693,29713
% Change: 5.2%
Notes:
1 Succeeded by Larry Corey, MD, as President and Director on January 1, 2011. Dr. Hartwell joined the faculty of Arizona State University, where he established and co-directs the Center for Sustainable Health at ASU’s Biodesign Institute; and is ASU’s second Virginia G. Piper Chair of Personalized Medicine.
2 Because no updated Form 990 has been made public over the past year, the figure is identical to the one found in the GEN List, “20 Top-Salaried Research Institute Leaders,” published September 25, 2012.
3 Year of departure unavailable.
4 2011 total compensation Includes $250,000 severance payment.
5 Form 990 covers a shorter-than-one-year timeframe to reflect a change of accounting period.
6 Served as interim administrative leader after Richard Woychik, Ph.D., stepped down in January 2011 to join the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences as Deputy Director. A permanent president and CEO, Edison “Ed” Liu, M.D., took office in January 2012. See http://www.jax.org/news/archives/2010/woychik_niehs.html
7 Retired as of June 2013, and has since returned to his lab at University of California, San Diego, where he will continue his research on protein tyrosine phosphatases. See: http://www.hhmi.org/news/jack-dixon-retire-hhmi-vice-president-and-chief-scientific-officer
8 Includes $41,650 in “estimated other compensation from the organization and related organizations.” Winner of the 2012 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science from the Franklin Institute.
9 Named VP for Science Education in September 2010, after serving as an Investigator from 1990–2010
10 Includes $37,709 in “estimated other compensation from the organization and related organizations.”
11 Named EVP and COO as of September 2010, after serving as COO of the Institute’s Janelia Farm Research Campus. See: http://www.hhmi.org/news/cheryl-moore-named-hhmi-s-first-chief-operating-officer
12 Has served as President since April 2010, and as interim CEO since January 2013, when John C. Reed, M.D., Ph.D., resigned to accept position as Head of Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, and member of Roche’s Corporate Executive Committee. See: http://beaker.sanfordburnham.org/2013/01/john-reed-resigns-ceo-accepts-roche/
13 Compensation comes from “related organizations” rather than directly from the institution, according to Stowers’ Form 990 returns for 2011 and 2010.
14 Succeeded by Michael A. Marletta, Ph.D., as President and CEO on January 1, 2012.
15 Resigned as CEO in January 2013 to accept position as Head of Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, and member of Roche’s Corporate Executive Committee. His duties have since been assumed on an interim basis by Kristiina Vuori, M.D., Ph.D. See: http://beaker.sanfordburnham.org/2013/01/john-reed-resigns-ceo-accepts-roche/
