GC Pay: A Case Study

GC pay and raises are often a black box, so I thought it’d be helpful to look at a case study. Pay is usually a mix of base + bonus + equity (the largest component). This scenario was the case with Jennifer Salinas, GC of Cerence, a small public technology company that does AI-powered voice assistance for vehicle dashboards. See Corporate Counsel article.

• In 2024, her pay was around $1M, about half in base and half in bonus.
• In 2025, her pay more than tripled. While her base around $500K stayed consistent, she received a bonus of $100K and stock grants over $2.7M.

What accounted for the raise?

• Trend of smaller companies (<$800M revenue) raising GC pay significantly for managing high-risk issues like AI, privacy, and global compliance. (Law.com reported the 2023 median total cash comp for GCs at smaller public companies was $510K, but in 2024 it was $690K, a 35% increase.)
• Proven track record with leadership and business partnership. The Cerence GC was promoted from SVP to EVP and raised because of “operational excellence” and “high performance in [the company’s] legal and technology services organizations” according to her CEO. She also was recognized for being “a strong, dynamic leader” who worked cross-functionally.
• Expected company growth. Cerence announced new products and services anticipating AI potential, and the CEO recognized the GC’s ability to “lead[] Cerence’s transformation initiatives at this critical time.”