Private equity firms may have been returning less profit to investors in recent years, but finance chiefs working at businesses owned by such companies are seeing their own compensation packages grow.
That’s the upshot of a new report issued Wednesday by executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles. On average, CFOs working at PE-backed firms in the U.S. took home cash pay of $604,000 in 2025, up 5% year over year.
“Experts suggest this increase reflects longer expected hold periods and time to exit, which heightens candidates’ focus on negotiating base cash compensation upfront,” Heidrick & Struggles’ report stated. “As CFOs carefully consider both immediate and long-term value in these extended investment horizons, they’ve realized that a higher base mitigates the risk of delayed equity realization and shapes the overall package.”
The report, which stemmed from a December 2025 online survey of 353 senior financial officers mostly in the U.S. and Europe, said there was “notable variation” in compensation “across industries, company size and geography.” Average cash compensation for CFOs working in the financial services industry, for instance, was $973,000. That compares to an average of $522,000 for finance chiefs working in health care and life sciences.
The respondent base was mostly composed of CFOs, though it also included “top or lead financial executives with other titles,” the report noted.
When it comes to equity compensation, researchers unveiled that finance chiefs, on average, expect that their equity will be worth between $3.5 million to $7.1 million at exit. “The most common equity vehicle was performance share units, reported by 40% of respondents, while fewer than one-quarter indicated their equity included an anti-dilution provision,” the report stated.
Heidrick & Struggles’ report comes at a complicated time for the private equity industry. In a February analysis, Bain & Company reported that private equity firms are sitting on $3.8 trillion worth of unsold portfolio companies globally. Meanwhile, buyout distributions as a percentage of net asset value came in at 14%, which Bain said was “a level not seen since 2008–09 in the middle of the global financial crisis.” Other studies have repeatedly pointed to private equity firms holding onto their portfolio companies for much longer than in the past. In an attempt to return liquidity to investors, many firms have begun setting up new funds to essentially sell their assets back to themselves.
Heidrick & Struggles’ report suggested that longer hold periods may be affecting how private equity firms think about financial talent. Of the survey participants, about half said they had been in their current position for two years or less. Just 12% were promoted from within.
“With longer hold times and limited exit optionality, PE backers are increasingly willing to change CFOs mid-hold to accelerate performance, support strategic pivots, or reset execution discipline. A move once viewed as disruptive is now seen as necessary, particularly as the scope and complexity of the CFO role has expanded.”
