CDW Corporation is one of the largest technology solutions providers in the United States. It serves over 250,000 businesses, government agencies, schools, and healthcare organizations.
When a company generates over $20 billion in annual revenue, people naturally want to know how much the CEO earns.
In this detailed guide, we break down the CDW CEO salary, Christine Leahy’s total compensation package, and how her pay compares to other tech industry CEOs.
Quick Answer
- CEO & Chair: Christine (Chris) Leahy
- Base Salary (2024): $1,039,615
- Total Compensation (2024): $10,051,578
- CEO Pay Ratio: 94:1 (CEO pay vs. median employee)
- Year-Over-Year Change: 11% increase from the previous year
Who Is Christine Leahy? CDW’s Chair and CEO
Christine “Chris” Leahy is the Chair and Chief Executive Officer of CDW Corporation. She has been leading the company since 2019.
Under her leadership, CDW has evolved from a traditional IT reseller into a full-stack technology orchestrator. The company now provides full-lifecycle solutions and services to a massive customer base across multiple sectors.
Career Journey at CDW
Chris Leahy is a 20-year veteran of CDW. She didn’t start at the top. She worked her way through several key leadership roles before becoming CEO.
Here is her career path at CDW:
- Chief Legal Officer — She was CDW’s first-ever chief legal officer
- SVP, International Business Units — Led CDW’s global operations
- Chief Revenue Officer — Managed all customer-facing units
- Chair, President & CEO — Took the helm in 2019
Before CDW
Before joining CDW in 2002, Leahy was a corporate partner at Sidley Austin, one of the world’s largest international business law firms, based in their Chicago office.
Education
- Bachelor’s Degree from Brown University
- J.D. from Boston College Law School
Board Service
Chris Leahy serves on several prominent boards:
- Target Corporation — Board of Directors
- Northwestern Memorial Hospital
- Junior Achievement of Chicago
- Corporate Leadership Center
- Brown University
CDW CEO Salary: Full Compensation Breakdown
Now let’s get into the numbers. This is what most people are searching for.
According to CDW’s 2024 proxy statement filed with the SEC and data from multiple compensation tracking platforms, here is what Christine Leahy earned for the fiscal year ending in 2024.
Base Salary
Chris Leahy’s base salary for 2024 was $1,039,615.
This is the fixed cash portion of her pay. It’s the guaranteed amount she receives regardless of company performance.
Stock Awards
She received $7,200,151 in stock awards.
Stock awards are shares of CDW stock granted as part of her compensation. Their value depends on the company’s stock price performance over time.
This is the largest component of her total pay package.
Option Awards
Leahy also received $1,800,030 in option awards.
Stock options give her the right to buy CDW shares at a set price in the future. If the stock price rises, these options become more valuable.
All Other Compensation
Additional compensation totaled $11,782. This typically includes perks like insurance, retirement contributions, or other benefits.
Total Compensation
Adding it all up:
$10,051,578 — That’s Chris Leahy’s total compensation for fiscal year 2024.
CDW CEO Salary & Compensation Table
Here is a clear breakdown of every component of Christine Leahy’s pay:
| Compensation Component | Amount (2024) |
| Base Salary | $1,039,615 |
| Stock Awards | $7,200,151 |
| Option Awards | $1,800,030 |
| All Other Compensation | $11,782 |
| Total Compensation | $10,051,578 |
| CEO Pay Ratio | 94:1 |
| Year-Over-Year Change | +11% increase |
Sources: SEC Proxy Filing , Salary.com , AFL-CIO PayWatch , Bullfincher
CDW CEO Pay Ratio: 94 to 1
One important metric that investors and the public watch closely is the CEO pay ratio.
For fiscal year 2024, CDW’s CEO pay ratio was 94:1.
This means Christine Leahy’s total compensation was 94 times the pay of CDW’s median employee.
What Does This Mean?
If the median CDW employee earned approximately $106,900 per year, the CEO earned 94 times that amount.
Compared to many Fortune 500 companies where CEO pay ratios can exceed 200:1 or even 300:1, CDW’s ratio of 94:1 is relatively moderate.
This ratio is publicly disclosed in CDW’s annual proxy statement filed with the SEC, as required by law.
How CDW CEO Pay Changed Over Time
Chris Leahy’s compensation has grown alongside CDW’s business performance.
Her 2024 total compensation of $10,051,578 represents an 11% increase from the previous year.
This increase aligns with CDW’s continued growth and market leadership in the technology solutions space.
Why Did Her Pay Increase?
Several factors typically drive CEO compensation increases at public companies:
- Company revenue performance — CDW generated approximately $20.99 billion in revenue
- Stock price performance — A significant portion of her pay is tied to CDW’s stock
- Strategic milestones — CDW’s evolution into a full-stack technology orchestrator
- Industry benchmarking — Her pay is positioned near the median for CEO compensation within the technology industry
How Does CDW CEO Salary Compare to Other Tech CEOs?
To put Christine Leahy’s compensation in perspective, here’s how it stacks up against CEOs of comparable technology and IT services companies:
| CEO | Company | Total Compensation (Approx.) |
| Christine Leahy | CDW Corporation | $10,051,578 |
| Michael Dell | Dell Technologies | ~$27 million+ |
| Arvind Krishna | IBM | ~$21 million+ |
| Chuck Robbins | Cisco Systems | ~$25 million+ |
| Antonio Neri | HPE | ~$18 million+ |
Leahy’s compensation is lower than many peers at larger technology companies. However, CDW operates in a different segment — technology distribution and solutions — rather than hardware or software manufacturing.
Her pay is considered near the median for CEOs in her specific industry category.
For additional tech industry comparisons, see how leaders at CDW’s key vendor partners are compensated: HP CEO salary and Intel CEO salary.
Understanding CDW’s Business Performance
CEO compensation doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s tied to how well the company performs.
CDW by the Numbers (2024)
- Annual Revenue: Approximately $20.99 billion
- Operating Income (2024): $1,651 million
- Net Profits: Approximately $1,078 million
- Employees: Over 15,100
- Customers Served: More than 250,000 organizations
CDW is a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest IT solutions providers in the world. Under Leahy’s leadership, the company has maintained strong profitability even during challenging market conditions.
Operating income for 2024 was $1,651 million, a modest 1.8% decrease from 2023’s $1,681 million.
How Is CDW CEO Pay Determined?
CDW’s Board of Directors determines executive compensation through its Compensation Committee.
Key Factors in Pay Decisions
According to CDW’s proxy statement filed with the SEC:
- Performance-Based Pay: Approximately 91% of the CEO’s target compensation is variable. This means most of her pay depends on company performance.
- Peer Benchmarking: The board compares Leahy’s pay against CEOs at similar-sized technology companies.
- Stock-Heavy Structure: Over 89% of her total compensation comes from stock awards and option awards. This aligns her interests with shareholders.
- Annual Review: The compensation committee reviews and adjusts pay annually based on company results and market data.
Why Is Most of Her Pay in Stock?
When a CEO’s compensation is heavily weighted toward stock, it means:
- She earns more when the stock price goes up (good for shareholders)
- She earns less when the stock price goes down (shared risk)
- It creates long-term alignment between the CEO and investors
This structure is considered a best practice in corporate governance.
Chris Leahy’s Community Involvement and Leadership
Beyond her corporate role, Chris Leahy is known for her commitment to inclusion, empowerment, and equity.
- She is a Past Chair and current member of the Board of Trustees of Brightpoint (formerly Children’s Home and Aid)
- She was a founder and sponsor of CDW’s Women’s Opportunity Network, a business resource group supporting women’s advancement at CDW
- She serves on multiple civic and philanthropic boards
Her leadership philosophy is built on three cornerstone values she learned growing up in a large, entrepreneurial family: hunger, humility, and honesty.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does the CDW CEO make?
Christine Leahy earned a total compensation of $10,051,578 for fiscal year 2024, including a base salary of $1,039,615 and $9,000,181 in stock and option awards.
What is the CDW CEO pay ratio?
The CEO pay ratio at CDW is 94:1, meaning Leahy earns 94 times the median employee’s compensation.
How long has Christine Leahy been CDW’s CEO?
She has served as CEO since 2019 and has been with CDW for over 20 years.
Is Christine Leahy overpaid?
Her compensation is near the median for CEOs in the technology industry. With 91% of her pay being performance-based, her earnings are closely tied to company results.
Key Takeaways
Before we wrap up, here are the most important points from this post:
- Christine Leahy earned $10,051,578 in total compensation for fiscal year 2024 as CDW’s Chair and CEO.
- Her base salary is $1,039,615, but the majority of her pay (over 89%) comes from stock awards ($7.2M) and option awards ($1.8M).
- CDW’s CEO pay ratio is 94:1, which is moderate compared to many Fortune 500 companies.
- Her total pay increased 11% year-over-year, reflecting CDW’s continued market leadership.
- Approximately 91% of her target compensation is variable and performance-based, aligning her interests with shareholders.
- CDW generated approximately $20.99 billion in revenue and $1,078 million in profits in 2024, making it one of the largest IT solutions providers globally.
- All compensation details are publicly disclosed in CDW’s annual proxy statement filed with the SEC.
Conclusion
If you searched for “CDW CEO salary,” the answer is clear and well-documented.
Christine Leahy earned $10,051,578 in total compensation for fiscal year 2024. Her base salary is just over $1 million, but the vast majority of her pay comes from stock-based awards tied to company performance.
Under her leadership, CDW has grown into a $21 billion technology solutions powerhouse serving over 250,000 customers. The company’s compensation structure ensures that executive pay is closely aligned with shareholder value and business results.
With a CEO pay ratio of 94:1 and 91% of target pay being performance-based, CDW’s approach to executive compensation reflects modern corporate governance best practices.
All of this information is publicly available through SEC filings and independent compensation databases. Transparency is built into the system.