“Why do some VP & C-suite salaries look so high… and others so low?”
Following our recent “2026 London Salary Benchmarking Report” built specifically for VC- and PE-backed scaleups and challenger brands, that’s one question that keeps coming up. Which is why we intentionally include broad ranges rather than narrow benchmarks.
C-suite and VP ranges across London scaleups
From page 8 of our recent Santa Monica salary report, here are some of the C-Suite and VP ranges we’re seeing across London scaleups:
CEO: £150K – £350K
CTO: £150K – £350K
CFO: £120K – £180K
CRO (60/40 split OTE): £150K – £250K
CPO: £150K – £250K
COO: £150K – £250K
VP Engineering: £130K – £200K
VP Data: £120K – £150K
VP Marketing: £100K – £180K
VP People: £100K – £150K
What’s reshaping the hiring market
There are far fewer late-stage VC-backed companies than a few years ago, and that shift is reshaping the hiring market, with:
Fewer new leadership roles being created
More experienced talent available
In many businesses it’s effectively a “1 in, 1 out” strategy.
Job titles rarely mean the same thing across companies, and the same title can command vastly different compensation depending on sector, company stage, revenue scale and, increasingly, AI capability.
Where offers are landing
As a result, we’re seeing many offers landing at the lower end of ranges, with a few outlier packages for high-impact hires.
Get the 2026 salary report
If you’d like access to the report and you’re hiring, salary benchmarking, or exploring new roles, reach out to Ellis Seder.