These were the Triangle's highest-paid CEOs in 2025
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Ari Bousbib of Durham-based clinical research company IQVIA remains the Triangle's highest paid CEO, according to an Axios survey of financial filings.
The big picture: A majority of the chief executive officers of the Triangle's largest publicly traded companies saw their compensation increase last year, bringing in millions of dollars worth of salary, stock options and perks.
- That mirrored a nationwide trend, with the median compensation of S&P 500 CEOs up 5.9% last year, according to Equilar.
Zoom in: Bousbib, who has led IQVIA since 2016, reported a total compensation package of $28.1 million in 2025, up around 5% from the year before.
- Michael Weiss, the CEO of Morrisville-based TG Therapeutics, which produces multiple sclerosis treatments, followed behind. He brought in a total compensation of $25.6 million, up 36% from the previous year.
Between the lines: The pay gap between CEOs of companies and their employees can often be quite large as well. That gap continues to grow nationally.
- Shane O'Kelly, the CEO of Raleigh-based Advance Auto Parts, for instance, had a reported total compensation package of $9.1 million last year. That was 358 times larger than the company's median wage of $25,492.
Caveat: The bulk of CEOs' pay came in the form of stock options and grants, which can fluctuate significantly in their value.
- And while several of the CEOs on the list may lead Triangle-based companies, they might live in other places.
- Bousbib, who led IMS Health when it combined with Durham-based Quintiles to form IQVIA, has long been based in Connecticut. And Ed Meyercord runs Morrisville-based Extreme Networks from San Jose, California.
The list also does not capture the full spectrum of CEO pay in the region, as it only tracks publicly traded firms that must report that data.
- Many of the region's highest-compensated CEOs lead private companies, like Jim Goodnight at SAS Institute and Tim Sweeney at Epic Games, who are the two richest men in the state.
By the numbers: Two women CEOs — Caitlin Zulla of Lumexa Imaging and Tami Newcombe of Ralliant — were among the 10 highest-compensated CEOs last year. In 2024, there were no women in the rankings.
- Laura Niklason, CEO of the Durham biotech Humacyte, saw the largest increase in compensation in 2025. Her reported pay of $5.2 million was up more than 400% from the previous year. Humacyte's stock price, however, is down 41% so far this year.
- David Morken, the head of Raleigh-based Bandwidth, had the second biggest increase, with his compensation growing more than 260% to $7.6 million last year.
- The CEO whose compensation fell the most last year was Michael Amoroso of Precision Biosciences. His compensation dropped 49% to $2.2 million.
- Robert Fuerle, who was hired to guide the Durham semiconductor maker Wolfspeed out of bankruptcy last March, had a reported total compensation of $650,000 in his first year.