American Cancer Society CEO salary and executive pay
American Cancer Society paid its CEO, Karen E Knudsen PhD, $2,242,645 for the fiscal year ending December 2024. That is up $722,344 (47.5%) from the fiscal year ending December 2023. Total revenue on that return was $724,184,531, up 10.3% from $656,838,115 for the fiscal year ending December 2023. American Cancer Society ranks 14th of 45 major nonprofits on this site by CEO pay. $173,760 of Karen E Knudsen PhD's pay came from related organizations (column E). American Cancer Society has 4 Form 990 returns on record, for fiscal years ending 2022 to 2025.
Last updated from IRS e-file data. EIN 13-1788491, Atlanta, GA.
CEO, fiscal year ending December 2024
$2,242,645
Also listed with a chief executive title on this filing: Wayne A I Frederick MD MBA FACS (INTERIM CEO/BOARD DIRECTOR, FORMER), $601,730.
- Total revenue
- $724,184,531
- CEO pay vs. peers
- Higher than 87%
Source: Form 990, fiscal year ending December 2024, IRS object ID 202502879349300245.View the filing
Peers: the 330 other organizations on this site with revenue of $500 million to $5 billion. Ranked 41st of 331 by top pay as a share of revenue. Pay is 0.31% of revenue, our calculation from the same return. Revenue is Part I, line 12; peers are compared on their latest full-year returns.
This is the national organization, American Cancer Society, Inc., based in Atlanta. Its Cancer Action Network is a separate 501(c)(4) that files its own return, so its pay is not included here. The return for January to March 2025 covers a 3-month short year and lists every officer at $0, so the latest full year shown is 2024.
Highest-paid people on the latest return
On the latest return, 11 people were paid more than $500,000, 5 of them more than $1 million.
| Name and title | Total |
|---|---|
| Karen E Knudsen PhD CEO CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, OUTGOING | $2,242,645 |
| Kael ReicinCHIEF FINANCIAL & STRATEGY OFFICER | $1,322,641 |
| William L DahutCHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER | $1,073,456 |
| Andre C BokhoorCHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER | $1,020,474 |
| Michael L NealCHIEF OF ORGANIZATIONAL ADVANCEMENT | $1,020,332 |
Also paid on the latest return: Arif Kamal (CHIEF PATIENT OFFICER), $892,411; John B Woodward (SENIOR EVP, FIELD OPERATIONS), $709,107; Timothy B Phillips (CHIEF LEGAL AND RISK OFFICER, OUTGOING), $693,151; Wayne A I Frederick MD MBA FACS (INTERIM CEO/BOARD DIRECTOR, FORMER), $601,730; Tawana Thomas-Johnson (SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER), $544,408; Emily Sandman (SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, PEOPLE TEAM), $535,652.
Also listed in Part VII of the latest return, with no pay reported: Brian A Marlow CFA (BOARD CHAIR), Connie Lindsey (BOARD SECRETARY), Kathleen Gallagher MSN (BOARD TREASURER), Mark A Goldberg MD (BOARD SCIENTIFIC OFFICER), Michael T Marquardt (BOARD IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR), Terri McClements (BOARD VICE CHAIR), Asif Dhar MD MBA (BOARD DIRECTOR), Desiree G Rogers (BOARD DIRECTOR), Edison T Liu MD (BOARD DIRECTOR), Jaime Wesolowski (BOARD DIRECTOR), Jose C Buenaga MBA (BOARD DIRECTOR), Karen Etzkorn (BOARD DIRECTOR), Katie A Eccles Esq (BOARD DIRECTOR), Kenneth R Stoll (BOARD DIRECTOR), Michael Pellini MD (BOARD DIRECTOR), Michelle M Le Beau PhD (BOARD DIRECTOR), Norman E Sharpless MD (BOARD DIRECTOR), Robert Winn MD (BOARD DIRECTOR), Sean T Farnham (BOARD DIRECTOR).
CEO pay by year
Each row is the CEO on that year's return.
| Fiscal year ending | Name and title | Total | Revenue | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2025 Short year, 3 months | No officer pay reportedAll 21 people listed on this return show $0. | $0 | $136,826,348 | Filing |
| Dec 2024 | Karen E Knudsen PhD CEO CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, OUTGOING | $2,242,645 | $724,184,531 | Filing |
| Dec 2023 | Karen E Knudsen PhD CEO Chief Executive Officer | $1,520,301 | $656,838,115 | Filing |
| Dec 2022 | Karen E Knudsen PhD CEO Chief Executive Officer | $1,118,608 | $674,472,929 | Filing |
How this pay was reported
The parts of each total, as reported on the return for the fiscal year ending December 2024.
Source: Form 990, fiscal year ending December 2024, IRS object ID 202502879349300245.View the filing
| Part VII | Schedule J | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name and title | From org | Related | Other | Base | Bonus | Other | Deferred | Nontaxable | Total |
| Karen E Knudsen PhDCHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, OUTGOING | $2,015,611 | $173,760 | $53,274 | $855,458 | $946,972 | $213,181 | $19,057 | $29,989 | $2,064,657 |
| Schedule J, from related orgs | $73,746 | $81,636 | $18,378 | $1,643 | $2,585 | $177,988 | |||
| Kael ReicinCHIEF FINANCIAL & STRATEGY OFFICER | $1,150,466 | $123,264 | $48,911 | $616,851 | $482,511 | $51,104 | $18,872 | $25,306 | $1,194,644 |
| Schedule J, from related orgs | $66,091 | $51,697 | $5,476 | $2,022 | $2,711 | $127,997 | |||
| William L DahutCHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER | $1,011,912 | $0 | $61,544 | $586,079 | $417,497 | $8,336 | $60,412 | $1,132 | $1,073,456 |
| Schedule J, from related orgs | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |||
| Andre C BokhoorCHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER | $950,673 | $0 | $69,801 | $512,428 | $410,930 | $27,315 | $41,463 | $28,338 | $1,020,474 |
| Schedule J, from related orgs | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |||
| Michael L NealCHIEF OF ORGANIZATIONAL ADVANCEMENT | $977,147 | $0 | $43,185 | $544,301 | $390,246 | $42,600 | $21,470 | $21,715 | $1,020,332 |
| Schedule J, from related orgs | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |||
These figures come from American Cancer Society's Form 990 returns, as the IRS publishes them. The methodology page explains how they're chosen. To report an error, email corrections@ceopaycheck.com.
How American Cancer Society compares
Ranked 14th of 45 major nonprofits by CEO pay.
- Previous in this ranking: 13th, Shriners Hospitals for Children, $2,387,804
- Next in this ranking: 15th, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, $1,871,720
Closest in revenue among organizations in the same revenue band:
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers$1,149,504 (CEO), fiscal year ending Dec 2024
Vitalant$1,802,965 (CEO), fiscal year ending Dec 2024
Michael J. Fox Foundation$1,593,750 (CEO), fiscal year ending Dec 2025
NMDP$2,152,247 (CEO), fiscal year ending Sep 2025
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors$747,111 (CEO), fiscal year ending Dec 2024
Common questions
Karen E Knudsen PhD (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, OUTGOING) was paid $2,242,645 for the fiscal year ending December 2024: $2,015,611 from American Cancer Society, $173,760 from related organizations and $53,274 in other compensation (Part VII columns D, E and F).
The CEO, Karen E Knudsen PhD, was the highest-paid person on the latest return, at $2,242,645.
This is the national organization, American Cancer Society, Inc., based in Atlanta. Its Cancer Action Network is a separate 501(c)(4) that files its own return, so its pay is not included here.
American Cancer Society paid its CEO, Karen E Knudsen PhD, $2,242,645 for the fiscal year ending December 2024. That is up $722,344 (47.5%) from the fiscal year ending December 2023. The earliest return on record is for the fiscal year ending December 2022, when the CEO was Karen E Knudsen PhD, paid $1,118,608. By fiscal year end: December 2022, $1,118,608 (Karen E Knudsen PhD); December 2023, $1,520,301; December 2024, $2,242,645. The 3-month return for the period ending March 2025 reports no officer pay.
American Cancer Society's return for the fiscal year ending December 2024 reports total expenses of $791,860,890 and total revenue of $724,184,531 (Part I, lines 18 and 12), so expenses exceeded revenue by $67,676,359. Expenses were $756,272,604 for the fiscal year ending December 2023, so they rose 4.7%. The CEO's pay of $2,242,645 equals 0.28% of expenses, our calculation.
From the 4 Form 990 returns American Cancer Society filed with the IRS for fiscal years ending 2022 to 2025. The latest full-year return was filed on October 14, 2025. Schedule J of the fiscal year ending December 2024 return breaks down pay for all 5 people in the pay breakdown above.