Jeff Wittenberg, Kaye/Bassman Managing Director, Featured in Engineering News-Record
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Jeff Wittenberg, Kaye/Bassman Managing Director, Featured in Engineering News-Record, 1Q 2025 Cost Report: Increases in Executive Compensation Fall From Record Highs
By: Bruce Buckley
Plano, TX | 3/20/2025
After a strong surge in executive pay coming out of the pandemic, compensation is returning to historic norms. Average annual compensation increases for executives hit a high mark in 2023 at 5.6%—the highest level since 2000, according to data from industry compensation research firm PAS. Last year, it appeared that employers had reached their limits, pulling back annual pay bumps to 5.2%.
Jeff Wittenberg, managing director for construction at Kaye/Bassman, says that he continues to see very strong demand year after year in preconstruction, as a dearth of available job candidates drives up compensation offers. “In estimating and preconstruction, I see fewer and fewer people wanting to go into that role, to the detriment of the industry,” he adds. “Companies have not made that role as attractive as they have in operations, both in terms of compensation and in terms of career path. Most senior executives come through the project management side of the business. Why not pre-con?”
In recent years, recruiters have noted a strong trend among job candidates seeking work-life balance through flexible work hours or remote work. Jones says while that has been a hot topic since the pandemic, many employers are reaching their limits in terms of what they can offer. “Senior leaders say, we know times are changing and we’ve got to be willing to flex, but there’s only so much we can flex,” he says.
