He graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1988 with a degree in business administration and from Boston University with a master’s of business administration.
Total annual compensation: $1.56 million (2024 United States Securities and Exchange Commission filing)
Trent Green
National Research Corp.
$1.25 million
Trent Green became the new CEO of National Research Corp. in June. Prior to this role, Green was the CEO of Amazon’s One Medical in San Francisco.
National Research Corp., which does business as NRC Health, provides patient experience management tools and market research to health companies.
NRC Health employs about 368 people and has a market capitalization of about $363 million.
Salary: $1.25 million (2024 SEC filing)
Green also received a grant of 500,000 shares of common stock when he was hired, according to the SEC filing.
Many health care companies are listed officially as nonprofits and their tax filings are publicly available through the ProPublica NonProfit Explorer. Meanwhile insurance companies report that information to the Nebraska Department of Insurance.
Russ Gronewold
Bryan Health
$1.56 million
Russ Gronewold is the president and CEO of Bryan Health, a health care company with two Lincoln hospitals.
Prior to that role he was the chief financial officer for the company. He’s originally from Adams and received a master of business administration degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1989.
Bryan Health is celebrating the centennials of its two Lincoln hospitals this year, through 2026.
Total annual compensation: $1.56 million (2023 tax filings)
Robert Jurgensmeier
Ameritas
$1.48 million
Robert Jurgensmeier became the CEO of Ameritas, which sells life insurance and other policies, in 2024. He started at Ameritas back in 2012 as a senior vice president and chief actuary–individual division, according to his company profile.
Jurgensmeier, a Hastings native, earned a bachelor of science in business administration from UNL.
Ameritas has about 2,500 employees according to its website.
Total annual compensation: $1.48 million (2024 filing to the Nebraska Department of Insurance)
Susan Wilkinson
Ameritas
$1.64 million
Susan Wilkinson is also on the Ameritas leadership team as the president and chief operating officer. She started at the company in 1995 as a corporate accountant. Later she was elected executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer.
Wilkinson is also a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Omaha Branch. She is from Nebraska and graduated from UNL with a Bachelor of Science in business administration.
Total annual compensation: $1.64 million (2024 filing to the Nebraska Department of Insurance)
Susan Keisler-Munro
Assurity Life Insurance Company
$1.48 million
Susan Keisler-Munro became the CEO of Assurity Life Insurance Company in 2022. Prior to that she had been the senior vice president and chief of operations for the company since 2005, according to Assurity’s website.
She received her bachelor’s degree in mathematics and economics from Nebraska Wesleyan University. She also holds a master’s degree in actuarial science from UNL. And she serves on the Nebraska Wesleyan University Board of Governors.
Total annual compensation: $1.48 million (2024 filing to the Nebraska Department of Insurance)
Paul Dongilli Jr.
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital
$671,383
Paul Dongilli Jr. has been the president and CEO of Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital since 2016.
Dongilli started his career as a speech pathologist in direct patient care, according to his National Association of Long Term Hospitals board of directors profile. He became the CEO after about 30 years at Madonna.
Total annual compensation: $671,383 (2024 tax data)
Many of Lincoln’s largest employers aren’t private companies, but instead government entities. Many of those organizations also have leaders with published salaries.
Jeff Gold
University of Nebraska
$1.3 million
Jeff Gold was named as the ninth president of the University of Nebraska which enrolls about 50,000 students and employs 16,000 faculty across the state, according to Gold’s presidential biography.
Before becoming president of the university he was the chancellor of the University of Nebraska Medical Center and board chair for the Nebraska Medicine Health System.
Part of Gold’s total annual compensation of about $1.3 million includes a bonus in addition to his base pay. However, Gold didn’t accept his bonus this year amid the university’s budgetary struggles.
Total annual compensation: $1.3 million (NU Board of Regents contract)
Emeka Anyanwu
Lincoln Electric System
$610,000
Emeka Anyanwu became CEO of the utility in 2024. The utility employs 566 people, according to the company website.
Before coming to Lincoln, Anyanwu worked in leadership roles at Seattle City Light and Kansas City Power & Light.
Since Anyanwu became CEO, the utility has faced two of its most costly storms.
Salary: $610,000 (2023 LES press release)
John Skretta
Lincoln Public Schools
$333,720
Lincoln’s school district is one of the largest employers in the city with about 6,625 employees as of October 2023. John Skretta was named as the district’s superintendent in September after spending eight months as interim superintendent.
Before being named as superintendent, Skretta was the district’s chief lobbyist. Skretta had also been the superintendent of Norris Public Schools.
Salary: $333,720 (LPS website)
Jim Pillen
State of Nebraska
$105,000
Jim Pillen was first elected governor in 2023. The first political office he served on was on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents after being elected in 2012.
Pillen received a bachelor’s degree in animal science from the University of Nebraska in 1979 along with a doctorate in veterinary medicine from Kansas State University in 1983.
Salary: $105,000 (Nebraska Public Payrolls)
Leirion Gaylor Baird
City of Lincoln
$99,255
Leirion Gaylor Baird was first elected as Lincoln’s mayor in 2019. Before becoming mayor, Baird was elected to two terms on the Lincoln City Council. Prior to that she served on the City-County Planning Commission.
Gaylor Baird is also set to lead the U.S. Conference of Mayors.