Salaries throughout the publishing industry remained strong for executives in a number of different sectors in 2015 and fiscal 2016, according to our annual look at executive salaries. New hires tended to start on a good foot, and with a few exceptions, compensation typically rose for veterans as well.

At Barnes & Noble, recently ousted CEO Ronald Boire brought in upward of $8 million in the fiscal year ended April 2016, almost $6 million of which was derived from stock awards. In addition to his base salary of $780,000, Boire, who started in his position last September and was let go this past August, received a $600,000 signing bonus and earned $1,177,000 in incentive pay. (B&N has not disclosed what exit package, if any, it has negotiated with Boire.) Chief digital officer Frederic Argir and v-p of development David Deason made just under $2.5 million and $1.6 million, respectively, in their first year in those positions. Argir received a $250,000 signing bonus and $300,000 in incentive pay, while Deason was awarded a $377,775 retention bonus. Jaime Carey, president of development and of the retailer’s restaurant group, brought home a little more than $1.9 million, including $705,769 in base salary.

B&N Education CEO Max Roberts netted just above $4 million in the fiscal year ended April 2016, a huge increase from $2.3 million in 2015, due mainly to $1.8 million in stock awards. Courtesy of a stock award of almost $767,000 and a $377,775 retention bonus, Patrick Maloney—the COO and executive v-p of B&N Education and president of Barnes & Noble College—received nearly $2.9 million last year, up more than $1 million from the previous comparable period.

The salary of Educational Development Corp.’s longtime CEO, Randall White, was up from $181,300 in the fiscal year ended February 2015 to $194,600 in fiscal 2016. His son, Craig, the company’s v-p of IT, saw a more sizable jump, bringing in $124,100 compared to $108,700. Randall White has an 18% stake in EDC, which had record results in fiscal 2016, owning a total of 730,829 shares. Craig White holds 191,687 shares.

Linda Zecher, buoyed by nearly $3 million in stock awards in 2015, took in total compensation of $4.2 million this past year as CEO of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, a huge jump from 2014’s $2 million, when there were no stock grants. Stock awards also boosted total compensation for Lee Ramsayer, president of U.S. sales, and Mary Cullinane, chief content officer. A $900,000 stock award lifted Ramsayer’s total pay package to $1.5 million last year from nearly $837,000 the year before; Cullinane made almost $1.3 million, including $800,000 in stock awards.

At McGraw-Hill Education, president, CEO, and director David Levin’s $1 million base salary in 2015 was part of $2.9 million in total compensation, down significantly from the $12.8 million he brought home the year before, a large part of which was a $9.6 million options award. Peter Cohen, group president of U.S. sales, made $1.6 million in his first year in the position, while Stephen Laster took home $1.44 million, up from $1.38 million the year prior.

Chairman, president, and CEO of Scholastic Dick Robinson’s net compensation fell from $5.1 million in the fiscal year ended May 2015 to $4.6 million in fiscal 2016, due to fluctuations in incentives and pensions, but he retained his $970,000 salary. Book clubs president Judith Newman’s take-home pay dropped slightly from roughly $2.75 million to $2.6 million, in part due to a decline in incentive pay. Her base salary remained $674,500. Alan Boyko, president of Scholastic Book Fairs, is also down roughly $100,000 from 2015, with a total compensation of $1.25 million in fiscal 2016.

Finally, compensation for Wiley’s Mark Allin skyrocketed due to his succession to the CEO position and company presidency in June 2015. Allin brought home $4.7 million, compared to $1.75 million the year before, thanks to about $2.3 million in stock awards. John Kritzmacher, the CFO and executive v-p of technology and operations, saw a rise in take-home to $2.5 million from $2.3 million, due in part to a salary increase and incentives.

Executive Compensation

Title Salary All Other Compensation Total
Barnes & Noble
Ronald Boire CEO $780,000 $7,812,806 $8,592,806
Jaime Carey President of development and restaurant group $705,769 $1,224,917 $1,930,686
Frederic Argir V-p and CDO $378,846 $2,110,251 $2,489,097
David Deason V-p of development $556,923 $1,037,841 $1,594,764
Barnes & Noble Education
Max Roberts CEO $896,154 $3,196,901 $4,093,055
Patrick Maloney Executive v-p and COO; president of B&N College $761,615 $2,116,687 $2,878,302
Educational Development Corp.
Randall White CEO $155,000 $39,600 $194,600
Craig White V-p of information technology $101,200 $22,900 $124,100
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Linda Zecher CEO $935,000 $3,285,502 $4,220,502
Lee Ramsayer Executive v-p, president of U.S. Sales $424,231 $1,093,837 $1,518,068
Mary Cullinane Executive v-p, CCO $397,692 $897,998 $1,295,690
McGraw-Hill Education
David Levin President, CEO, and director $1,000,000 $1,903,183 $2,903,183
Peter Cohen Group president of U.S. education $650,000 $971,534 $1,621,534
Stephen Laster CDO $450,000 $993,847 $1,443,847
Scholastic
Richard Robinson Chairman, CEO, and president $970,000 $3,652,330 $4,622,330
Judith Newman Executive v-p, president of Scholastic Book Clubs $674,500 $1,931,609 $2,606,109
Alan Boyko President of Scholastic Book Fairs $550,001 $702,281 $1,252,282
John Wiley
Mark Allin President and CEO $737,500 $3,968,563 $4,706,063
John Kritzmacher CFO and executive v-p of technology and operations $645,000 $1,847,641 $2,492,641

The PW Publishing Industry Salary Survey, 2016

PW's annual salary and jobs survey found that pay improved slightly in 2015, and that the industry is still overwhelmingly white.