Tech group executives making big money

Washington’s technology trade groups and think tanks don’t always see eye to eye, but their head honchos do have one thing in common: They all make big bucks.

Nearly half of the top officials at 14 of D.C.’s most prominent tech trade associations brought home more than $1 million in total compensation during 2010 and part of 2011, according to a POLITICO review of the groups’ most recent IRS filings. Three other tech trade association CEOs reported earning more than $700,000 during that period. Topping the list: former National Cable & Telecommunications Association President and CEO Kyle McSlarrow, who earned $2.8 million in 2010 to serve as the cable industry’s top Washington lobbyist. McSlarrow, a former Department of Energy deputy secretary, stepped down from leading the NCTA in March 2011. Former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell took over the job weeks later (Powell’s compensation hasn’t yet been disclosed in tax filings, and the NCTA declined to comment on his pay). McSlarrow and Powell are examples of another trend among tech trade CEOs: They’re often former government officials. Aside from Powell, four other current tech trade CEOs once served as lawmakers or worked in the federal government before leading lobbying efforts at their respective groups.