As a leading professional networking platform, LinkedIn has become an invaluable tool for millions of professionals around the world. The company, which was founded in 2002 and acquired by Microsoft in 2016 for $26.2 billion, has grown into a multibillion-dollar business with over 675 million members globally.
A driving force behind LinkedIn’s success has been its executive leadership team. Like most successful tech companies, LinkedIn compensates its top executives very well – with some making millions of dollars per year in salary, bonuses, stock awards and other compensation. But exactly how much do LinkedIn’s executives make? Let’s take a closer look.
LinkedIn’s Executive Team
LinkedIn’s executive leadership team consists of:
- Ryan Roslansky – CEO
- Tomer Cohen – Chief Product Officer
- Emir Maglcic – Vice President, Head of Corporate Development
- Michael Gamson – Senior Vice President, Global Solutions
- Ashutosh Gupta – Chief Financial Officer
- Greg Snapper – Vice President, Corp. Affairs & Public Policy
As the Chief Executive Officer, Ryan Roslansky heads LinkedIn’s executive team and oversees the company’s overall vision and strategy. The rest of the senior leadership team supports Roslansky in executing LinkedIn’s goals across product, engineering, sales, marketing, communications, policy, and finance functions.
Breakdown of Executive Compensation
LinkedIn, like all public companies in the U.S., is required to report the compensation packages of its top executives each year. These figures are publicly available in LinkedIn’s proxy statement filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Executive compensation typically consists of several components:
- Base salary – Fixed amount paid out on a regular basis, usually bi-weekly or monthly
- Bonus – Performance-based cash reward, typically paid out annually
- Stock awards – Grants of company stock, usually subject to vesting restrictions
- Non-equity incentive plan compensation – Performance-based cash incentives
- All other compensation – Other benefits like private air travel, health insurance premiums, 401K matching, etc.
By examining LinkedIn’s proxy statement Form DEF 14A filing, we can see the full compensation detail for each named executive officer.
CEO Compensation
For fiscal year 2021, LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky received the following compensation:
| Base salary | $650,000 |
| Bonus | $0 |
| Stock awards | $10,800,022 |
| Non-equity incentive plan compensation | $2,244,000 |
| All other compensation | $5,329 |
| Total | $13,699,351 |
Roslansky’s total compensation for 2021 was $13.7 million. This was a 39% increase compared to his 2020 pay of $9.9 million. The majority of Roslansky’s compensation comes from stock awards, which made up 79% of his 2021 pay.
Other Executives’ Compensation
Here is the breakdown of 2021 compensation for LinkedIn’s other named executive officers:
| Executive | Base Salary | Bonus | Stock Awards | Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation | All Other Compensation | Total |
| Tomer Cohen | $575,000 | $0 | $5,249,955 | $920,000 | $132,540 | $6,877,495 |
| Emir Maglcic | $400,000 | $0 | $3,629,932 | $560,000 | $5,329 | $4,595,261 |
| Michael Gamson | $575,000 | $0 | $5,399,938 | $920,000 | $23,439 | $6,918,377 |
| Ashutosh Gupta | $450,000 | $0 | $1,499,989 | $560,000 | $5,329 | $2,515,318 |
| Greg Snapper | $400,000 | $0 | $1,799,963 | $420,000 | $132,540 | $2,752,503 |
Besides the CEO, the other executives received between $2.5 million to $7 million in total compensation for 2021. Stock awards made up 50% or more of their compensation, followed by base salaries and non-equity incentive plan compensation.
How LinkedIn Executive Pay Compares to Other Tech Companies
LinkedIn’s executive compensation packages are in line with peer companies in the tech industry. Here’s how LinkedIn’s top executive pay compares:
| Company | Executive | Title | 2021 Total Compensation |
| Ryan Roslansky | CEO | $13.7 million | |
| Salesforce | Marc Benioff | Chairman and CEO | $29.3 million |
| Adobe | Shantanu Narayen | Chairman, President and CEO | $29.3 million |
| Intuit | Sasan Goodarzi | President and CEO | $16.6 million |
| Zillow | Richard Barton | CEO and Co-Founder | $29.5 million |
Among large tech companies, average CEO compensation ranges from about $15 million to $30 million per year. So LinkedIn’s CEO pay is on the lower end of the spectrum. Other LinkedIn named executives also make less than their peers at companies like Salesforce and Adobe.
Contributing Factors to High Executive Compensation
There are several factors that contribute to the large compensation packages commonly seen among top tech executives like those at LinkedIn:
- Stock awards – Grants of company stock and stock options are used to align executive incentives with shareholder interests. But during bull markets, these awards can become very valuable.
- Competitive talent market – Tech talent is scarce, so companies pay top dollar for skilled leadership. LinkedIn competes for executives against tech giants offering huge pay packages.
- Pay based on company performance – Much of the compensation is tied to company financial metrics like revenue, profit, stock price, etc. As the company performs well, execs are rewarded.
- Responsibilities and impact – Top executives have immense influence over multi-billion dollar companies like LinkedIn.
- Comparative peer salaries – Compensation committees benchmark pay against peer companies, leading to leapfrogging of executive salaries.
Given these factors, it’s not surprising to see C-suite executives at successful tech firms make millions per year. Public company shareholders also tacitly approve these pay packages.
Public Perception of High Executive Pay
Although accepted as the norm in corporate America, lucrative executive compensation packages frequently garner negative public attention:
- High executive pay ratios compared to average workers – For 2021, LinkedIn CEO’s pay was estimated to be 161 times that of LinkedIn’s median employee.
- Concerns over excessive CEO pay when workers see modest gains – In recent years, executive pay has grown far faster than typical worker wages.
- Questions over the real value added by specific executives
- Debate over the appropriate level of pay relativity between executives and everyday employees
Critics argue that multimillion dollar executive compensation is excessive and diminishes general employee morale when pay disparities are massive. But defenders claim the sizeable pay packages are justified by the rare skills and disproportionate impact that CEOs and other top execs possess.
Regardless of one’s views on appropriate pay scales, the outsized compensation earned by Tech company executives will likely continue to garner public scrutiny and debate.
Conclusion
In summary, LinkedIn’s top executives are very well compensated, with 2021 pay packages ranging from around $2.5 million for some senior VPs up to $13.7 million total compensation for CEO Ryan Roslansky. These figures are driven largely by stock awards and non-equity incentive pay tied to LinkedIn’s financial results. While not as high as compensation for top executives at some tech peers, LinkedIn executive pay is robust and reflective of LinkedIn’s strong performance. The focus on stock-based pay aligns executives’ interests with long-term shareholder value creation. But massive C-suite pay packages also rightly provoke debate over appropriate corporate pay scales and pay inequality.
