Security & Investigations · C-Suite · 15 to 22 years typical
CISO — Personal / Family Office Salary
Annual base compensation, national and by market, from 258 named sources. Every figure below says where it came from.
| Market | Multiplier | P25 | P50 | P75 | P90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York City, NY | 1.40× | $265,000 | $385,000 | $560,000 | $670,000 |
| San Francisco, CA | 1.30× | $245,000 | $360,000 | $520,000 | $620,000 |
| Boston, MA | 1.25× | $240,000 | $345,000 | $500,000 | $590,000 |
| Palm Beach, FL | 1.25× | $240,000 | $345,000 | $500,000 | $590,000 |
| Miami, FL | 1.23× | $235,000 | $335,000 | $490,000 | $580,000 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 1.20× | $230,000 | $330,000 | $480,000 | $570,000 |
| Washington, DC | 1.20× | $230,000 | $330,000 | $480,000 | $570,000 |
| Seattle, WA | 1.15× | $220,000 | $315,000 | $460,000 | $550,000 |
| Chicago, IL | 1.05× | $200,000 | $290,000 | $420,000 | $500,000 |
| Dallas, TX | 1.00× | $190,000 | $275,000 | $400,000 | $475,000 |
Time to fill 20 weeks for comparable searches, estimated from rouka's benchmark set.
Emerging but accelerating. Deloitte: 31% of FOs lack cyber incident response plan despite 93% phishing victimization. Senior cybersecurity leadership for UHNW families: develops strategy spanning personal devices, home networks, FO systems, communications, vendor security. Manages external vendors (BlackCloak, Decypher). Coordinates with physical security director on converged threats. Ensures compliance with SEC cybersecurity disclosure rules for FO investments. Brian Thompson assassination accelerated convergence of physical and cyber protection. Within 3-5 years, dedicated FO CISO could become standard at large offices, similar to how estate managers and EP agents became standard in previous decades. NSA, CISA, FBI Cyber Division backgrounds valued.
What does a CISO — Personal / Family Office do?
The CISO — Personal / Family Office operates providing executive protection, threat assessment, and security operations for high-net-worth families, corporate principals, or private organizations. Professionals in this role typically bring 15 to 22 years of relevant experience. Classified at the C-Suite level, this position draws from a very tight candidate market with an estimated pool of 30-75 qualified professionals, making targeted sourcing and competitive compensation critical for successful placements.
What drives CISO — Personal / Family Office compensation?
The median (P50) compensation for a CISO — Personal / Family Office is $275,000, with the 25th to 75th percentile range spanning $190,000 to $400,000. The 76% spread between P25 and P75 reflects significant pay variation driven by principal risk profile, domestic vs. international travel requirements, team size managed, security clearance level, and specialized training in surveillance detection or threat mitigation. Demand for this role is trending upward with 20% year-over-year growth, which is putting upward pressure on compensation at all levels.
CISO — Personal / Family Office career path
Professionals who move into CISO — Personal / Family Office roles most commonly come from military special operations, federal law enforcement, intelligence agencies, or corporate security departments. From this position, the typical trajectory leads toward director of security for large family offices, corporate security leadership, or independent security consulting. The average tenure in this role is approximately 4 years, with an annual turnover rate of 15%.
Hiring a CISO — Personal / Family Office?
A search playbook for this seat: compensation positioning against the band above, the sourcing map, and the interview framework.