# Kent Plunkett

> Kent Plunkett co-founded Salary.com in 1999, led it through its 2007 IPO, and returned as CEO when the founding team reacquired its compensation business from IBM in a deal announced in January 2016. He co-authored Get Pay Right with Heather Bussing in 2024 and became a Salary.com board director in December 2025.

- **Role:** Co-founder and Board Director at Salary.com
- **Organizations:** Salary.com, Intronis, Bumblebee Technologies, InfoSpace, ProCD, St. Paul Venture Capital
- **Education:** A.B. in Economics and Government, Georgetown University, MBA, Harvard Business School
- **Known for:** Led Salary.com through its 2007 IPO., Returned with the founding team to reacquire Salary.com from IBM., Recipient of the 2007 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for business services.

## Career timeline

- **1989** — Joined St. Paul Venture Capital after Harvard Business School.
- **1995-1996** — Served as director of business development at ProCD.
- **1996** — Held a leadership role at InfoSpace.
- **1996-1999** — CEO of career software publisher Bumblebee Technologies.
- **1999** — Co-founded Salary.com.
- **2000** — Salary.com launched its consumer service in June.
- **2001** — Salary.com introduced its corporate compensation product.
- **2007** — Led Salary.com through its February IPO.
- **2010** — Resigned as Salary.com CEO in February, initially remaining chairman and a director; subsequently led Intronis.
- **2016** — Returned as CEO with the founding team’s reacquisition of Salary.com from IBM, announced January 7.
- **2021** — Announced $67 million in Salary.com financing.
- **2024** — Co-authored Get Pay Right with Heather Bussing.
- **2025** — Moved to Board Director in December; Yong Zhang became Chairman and CEO.

## Achievements

- Led Salary.com through its 2007 IPO.
- Returned with the founding team to reacquire Salary.com from IBM.
- Recipient of the 2007 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for business services.
- Accredited by WorldatWork as a Certified Compensation Professional.
- Co-author of Get Pay Right: How to Achieve Pay Equity That Works (2024).

## Latest updates

- **2025-12** — Salary.com announced that Plunkett would become Board Director and Yong Zhang would become Chairman and CEO.
- **2024-09** — Appeared on Negotiate Anything to discuss pay equity and pay transparency.
- **2024-07** — Published Get Pay Right with Heather Bussing.

## Links

- Website: https://www.salary.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kent-plunkett-1a4600/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/kent-plunkett
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-26