Which wireline executives earned the highest compensation in 2014?

Sean  Buckley, FierceTelecomIt's that time of the year again when FierceTelecom takes a look at the highest paid executives in the wireline segment of the telecom industry, in our annual 10 highest paid CEOs in wireline report.

Topping our list were Verizon's (NYSE: VZ) Lowell McAdam and AT&T's (NYSE: T) Randall Stephenson, who reported that their total compensation rose slightly from $15.8 million in 2013 to $18 million and from $23.2 million to $24 million in 2014, respectively.

Besides AT&T and Verizon, there were big changes in the compensation of the CEOs at CenturyLink and Level 3 Communications. Glen Post, CEO of CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL) saw his total pay jump to $13 million in 2014, up from $9 million in 2013. Likewise, Level 3's CEO Jeff Storey saw his pay increase to $10.1 million from $8 million.

One of the interesting new changes that we did see in 2014 was that the CEO role changed hands at three Tier 2 telcos: Consolidated, Frontier and Windstream. Bob Udell took over the reins of Consolidated, while Dan McCarthy and Tony Thomas assumed the CEO position from Maggie Wilderotter and Jeff Storey.

Out of this trio, only McCarthy and Thomas, who previously served as COO and CFO at their companies, saw their total compensation rise to $3.9 and $3.3 million, respectively. Udell's dropped to $846,825 from $1.3 million in 2013.

With the wireline segment of the telecom industry continuing to consolidate and some executives nearing retirement age, it will be interesting to see what other changes lie ahead in the leadership ranks of the top wireline service providers.

I encourage you to take a look at our 10 highest paid CEOs in wireline report and let us know what you think in the comments section.

Stay on the lookout of what telecom executives topped FierceWireless and FierceCable's list, both of which will be appearing in the coming weeks.--Sean