At Rs 123 cr, HCL's Vijayakumar is the highest paid CEO in Indian IT sector

HCL Tech, in its annual report, said that it provided a remuneration of Rs 123 crore to its chief executive officer (CEO) C. Vijaykumar last year, making him the highest-paid Indian CEO right now

HCL Tech, in its annual report released recently, said that it provided a remuneration of Rs 123 crore to its chief executive officer (CEO) C. Vijaykumar last year after getting a two-year long-term incentive (LTI) worth $12.5 million, according to the company's annual report. He received $4.13 million in salary. This makes Vijayakumar the highest-paid Indian CEO currently. Even though HCL CEO Vijayakumar did not get a hike in his salary for FY22, which concluded on March 31, the $12.5 million LTI helped him jump ahead of Wipro's Thierry Delaporte, whose annual package was Rs 79.8 crore ($10.51 million) in the FY22.

Responding to the report, Vijayakumar wrote to shareholders, "At HCL Technologies, we have taken pioneering steps in our talent strategy. We are proud of our global team of diligent, diverse and passionate people, all 209,000 plus of them across 52 countries. They are delivering an extraordinary experience to our clients under the leadership of a world-class management team rooted in our culture of 'Ideapreneurship'."

Vijayakumar joined the global technology company HCL Technologies in 1994 and became the CEO after over two decades in 2016. He had also served as a board member of the US-India Business Council. Besides, he has also been appointed as the chairman of the World Economic Forum's IT Governor's Community.

A look at the CEOs of major Indian IT Sector firms reveals that these giants pay CEOs millions as turnover climbs among software talent. Moreover, reports suggest that the gap between an employee's median pay and management is rising significantly.

Also read: India's start-up story is intact, innovation vibrant: HCL Tech CEO

WIPRO CEO Thierry Delaporte was appointed as the CEO and MD of the company in July 2020. The Frenchman received a compensation of Rs 79.8 crore in FY22, a hike from the earlier package of Rs 64.3 crore in FY21. His cheque comprised salary and allowances worth $1.7 million, commissions/variable pay worth $2.5 million, long-term compensation or deferred benefits worth over $2 million and other variables amounting to $4.1 million, as per the reports.

INFOSYS CEO Salil Parekh, also known as the "turnaround manager", took over as the CEO of the $10-billion IT firm in January 2018. Parekh has seen through successful acquisitions and strong business turnarounds in the past. The salary of Salil Parekh was Rs 71.02 crore between FY 21-22, making him the third-highest paid Indian CEO among Indian IT firms. Besides, Salil Parekh's term has been extended by the company till 2027, along with a hike in his package, which now stands at Rs 79.75 crore.

Tech Mahindra CEO CP Gurnani has been at the company's helm since 2012 and has spearheaded the aggregation of Mahindra Satyam with Tech Mahindra. The salary of C P Gurnani was last posted at Rs 63.4 crore after receiving a 189% hike in his compensation in FY22. C P Gurnani's earnings have been recorded at around Rs 165 crore on occasions more than one. Gurnani has earlier been the NASSCOM chairman in 2016.

TCS CEO Rajesh Gopinathan is one of the youngest CEO of Tata Group. Rajesh Gopinathan is said to receive INR 25.75 crore as his salary in FY22, which was 26.6% over the pay he received in the last fiscal. He has been serving as the Managing Director and CEO of Tata Consultancy Services since 2017 after N Chandrasekaran was elevated to Tata Sons chairman. 

Expressing concerns about the ballooning purses of executives, Mohandas Pai, who served on Infosys' board in its early days, terms the "absurdly high" CEO salaries as the "Americanization" of the Indian software industry. "These are offshore companies. They are not American companies. They grew, not because of a mercenary attitude towards people, but because of a people-centric attitude," he said. Pai said billable employee (those who write software codes) pay has remained almost flat since 2009, while that of senior executives has gone up many times over.