Salil Parekh of Infosys is the second-highest paid chief executive officer (CEO) of an information technology company in India for FY24, with a remuneration package of Rs 66.25 crore, according to data compiled from annual reports.
This places him just behind Wipro's former CEO Thierry Delaporte, who earned $20 million (approximately Rs 166 crore).
Parekh's FY24 compensation represents a significant increase from his FY23 earnings, which had declined to Rs 56 crore from Rs 71 crore in FY22. The primary reason for the increase in FY24 was that Parekh exercised a higher number of restricted stock units (RSUs) during the year.
RSUs are a form of equity compensation provided to employees, and Infosys offers these under two plans: the 2015 plan, based largely on time, and the 2019 plan, which is based on performance indicators such as total shareholder returns and company operating metrics.
Of the total Rs 66.25 crore compensation for FY24, Salil Parekh earned Rs 39.03 crore by exercising his RSUs. His base pay for the year was Rs 7 crore, with an additional Rs 47 lakh in retiral benefits and Rs 7.47 crore as variable pay or bonus. Notably, his variable pay increased to Rs 19.75 crore in FY24 from Rs 12.62 crore in FY23.
Overall, Parekh's remuneration is composed of fixed pay, variable pay, retiral benefits, and the perquisite value of stock incentives exercised during the period.
Parekh's earnings are 677 times the median remuneration of Infosys employees, which stands at Rs 9.77 lakh. This disparity comes at a time when Infosys is altering its hiring model and the IT sector is facing increased uncertainty.
In his letter to shareholders, Parekh emphasized the company's relentless focus on execution, which enabled growth and operating margin resilience.
During FY24, Infosys worked closely with its clients on cost efficiency, automation, and consolidation programs, generating $17.7 billion in large deals, the highest annual amount recorded by the company.
Parekh highlighted that the company recruited nearly 11,900 college graduates, ending the year with over 317,000 employees. Additionally, Infosys trained over 250,000 employees in Artificial Intelligence (AI) skills.
In comparison, Wipro's former CEO Thierry Delaporte received over $20 million (approximately Rs 166 crore) in FY24, including a severance package of Rs 92.1 crore following his resignation on April 6. Delaporte's successor, Srinivas Pallia, is expected to receive about Rs 50 crore in FY25.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) CEO and MD K Krithivasan drew Rs 25.36 crore in FY24, the lowest among the large IT companies.
Meanwhile, C Vijayakumar of HCL Technologies earned Rs 28.4 crore in FY23, and LTIMindtree's CEO Debashis Chatterjee received Rs 17.5 crore in FY23 after the merger of L&T and Mindtree. Tech Mahindra's Mohit Joshi received an annual fixed compensation of Rs 6.5 crore and an equal amount in variable pay.
Salil Parekh's remuneration package highlights the competitive nature of executive compensation in the Indian IT sector. Despite the challenges faced by the industry, Infosys continues to prioritize growth, efficiency, and employee development, reflecting its strong market position and strategic initiatives.