C-Suite Executive Compensation – Food and Beverage Salaries Series #1

May 31, 2022 in Career and Job Search Tips, Food & Beverage Industry Information, HR Best Practices

 

Laurie Hyllberg

Laurie champions Kinsa Group’s position as the top food and beverage recruiting firm in the nation and its presence in the global FMCG marketplace. To her Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Business Management, and Marketing she adds over 20 years of executive search experience in the food and beverage industry at Kinsa. Building a network of executives and professionals through membership in the Women’s Foodservice Forum, Institute of Food Technologists, FaB Wisconsin, Chicagoland Food and Beverage Network, and maintaining professional expertise in recruiting as an Executive Board Member for the Recruiters Of Wisconsin association, Laurie is able to connect top talent in the food industry with food and beverage processors and foodservice providers growing their teams at the C-Suite, VP, Director, and Management level. Connect with Laurie today!

 

The Wall Street Journal reported in December 2021 that Companies Plan Big Raises for Workers in 2022 including:

  • Steeper Increases than at any point since the 2007-2009 recession, and
  • Boosts to Salary Ranges resulting in higher minimum, median and maximum salaries.

In preparation, Kinsa Group food and beverage executive recruiters have collected salary data from more than 8,000 candidate interviews across several food and beverage categories and skillsets during the past two years.  We share that data with employers and job candidates alike in our 2022 Food and Beverage Salary Guide so that you can stay competitive in the dynamic labor market of 2022. We’re taking some time this week to expand on the details shared in the C-Suite Executive pages…

Understand your C-Suite Executive need and your organization’s environment. 

For C-Suite Executives, some will say that what they do is more important than how much money they make, but where is that line? There is a minimum amount it will take to entice an executive to your company and cover their standard of living needs.

  • Kinsa’s Salary Guide cites that CEO’s report a low base salary end of $130,000 to a high end of $500,000, and this does not include your Fortune 50 executives.  The median base pay for mid-sized and small food and beverage company CEO’s was $240,000, plus incentives.
  • Those who held the title of President and General Manager had a similar median base pay at $240,000, while those acting as Board Chairman or Chief Operating Officer cited a slightly higher median of $260,000, though a lower high end at $350,000 and $400,000 respectively.

Do you need to pay something different for a turn-around situation vs. a stay-and-grow with us environment?  Kinsa’s recruiters would tell you – Yes!  If your environment has difficulties ahead or the future seems stormy or unclear, you will need to increase base compensation to attract good talented executives because the incentives are not as reliable.

Surround your C-Suite Executive Leader with a strong Executive Suite team. 

Have you been asking your Co-Founder to handle sales and marketing while you handle the operations?  At some point, you will need to add key industry executives to your leadership team in order to grow beyond a start-up to a legitimate player in the food and beverage industry.

  • Kinsa’s Salary Guide shares the base salary range for a Chief Commercial Sales Officer is $200,000 to $350,000, with the median at $220,000. A Chief Marketing Officer has the same median at $220,000. You may be able to attract a strong VP of Sales just below that range at a median of $195,000 or a VP of Marketing at a median of $180,000.
  • If your next key hire is that COO, be prepared to offer a range of $150,000 to $400,000, with the median at $260,000.  Take it a step down to VP of Operations if you’d rather target $200,000 as the median, or even Director of Operations with the median of $150,000.

Administrative roles like Chief Finance and Chief People Officers can’t be overlooked.

Rounding out the C-Suite compensation ranges that Kinsa Group’s 2022 Salary Guide covers are the CFO and Chief HRO.

  • Since Kinsa Group started releasing a salary guide 4 years ago, we have seen an increase in median food and beverage industry CFO pay from $175,000 in 2019 to $230,000 in 2022.  That’s a 31% increase, with the largest jump occurring between 2019 and 2020.  A VP of Finance is slightly lower at a median of $200,000 among the food and beverage professionals Kinsa interviewed.
  • Kinsa has not reported on the Chief HR Officer for as many years, and the range is quite wide from $140,000 to $310,000, with a median of $240,000.  A step down to VP of Human Resources is a base salary median of $190,000.

Looking for more food and beverage salary insights? Download the full salary guide now for free and get access to the range and median of food and beverage salaries from accounting to supply chain and sales to operations.

DOWNLOAD NOW

Food and Beverage Salaries: What’s Accurate?

Let our recruiting experts help you decide. Whether you are a professional seeking a new executive food & beverage position, or an industry employer ready to make a key hire, we have the insights and recruiting capability you need. Contact us today. 

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