For those who make it to the top of the IT ladder, the pay can be great. But most IT executives are losing ground as a result of the economic recession, according to a new report released today by Janco Associates Inc.

Janco, a Park City, Utah-based IT consulting firm that conducts salary surveys, said it found that the mean compensation for CIOs in large enterprises is now US$168,839, a 6.11 percent decrease from a similar study it issued a year ago. In midsize organizations, the current average is $163,211, a drop-off of nearly five percent, said Janco, which cited reductions in bonuses and fringe benefits for the compensation declines.

The firm collected data from 231 organizations and culled information from filings submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission. As part of its report, Janco also compiled a list of some of the most highly paid people working in IT, although several of the people on the list have multiple responsibilities at their companies—while others have taken new jobs since the compensation data was publicly reported. The list is based on information available as of last summer and covers the preceding 12 months, Janco said.

The highest-paid executive that Janco found is Jeffrey Fox, chief operating officer at Alltel Corp., a Little Rock, Ark.-based telecommunications firm. Fox, whose responsibilities include IT, network services and enterprise security, has an annual salary of $673,000 and total compensation of just over $9 million, Janco said.

Second on the consulting firm's list is Robert Willett, CEO of Best Buy Co.'s international business unit with worldwide responsibility for the retailer's information systems. Janco said that Willett's salary is $623,000 and that other compensation raised his total intake to nearly $8.6 million.

Third is Jean Davis, who has been head of operations, technology and e-commerce at Wachovia Corp. and was paid a salary of $205,500, with total compensation of $7.3 million, Janco said. Wachovia was acquired by Wells Fargo & Co. in a merger that was completed on Dec. 31.

Rounding out the top 10, according to Janco, are:

• Larry Kittelberger, senior vice president of technology and operations at Honeywell International Inc., with a salary of nearly $600,000 and total compensation of $6.4 million.
• Joseph Antonellis, CIO and vice chairman at State Street Corp., with a $669,000 salary and $6.3 million in total compensation.
• Glen Salow, executive vice president of service delivery and technology at Ameriprise Financial Inc., with a salary of $475,000 and total compensation of just over $6 million.
• Timothy Shack, who currently is listed on The PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s Web site as chairman of the company's PNC Global Investment Servicing unit. In a previous SEC filing, Shack was identified as PNC's CIO, with a reported salary of $510,000 and total compenstation of nearly $6 million.
• W. Roy Dunbar, who received a salary of $600,000 and total compensation of $5.2 million as CIO at MasterCard International Inc. Dunbar was named CEO of Network Solutions LLC last January.
• Bob DeRodes , who received $715,192 in salary and nearly $5.2 million in total compensation before leaving his job as executive vice president and CIO at The Home Depot Inc. last year. DeRodes is now chief technology officer at First Data Corp.
• Harvey DeMovick, CIO and executive vice president at Coventry Health Care Inc., with a salary of $600,00 and total compensation of nearly $4.7 million.