Jobaaj Stories
In the fiscal year 2023, HCLTech's Chief Executive Officer, C Vijayakumar, experienced a significant decline in earnings, making him the least-paid CEO among the leading IT companies in India. According to HCLTech's FY23 annual report, Vijayakumar's total earnings amounted to Rs 28.4 crore ($3.46 million), marking a notable 79.05 percent decrease from the previous year when he was the highest-paid CEO, earning Rs 130 crore ($16.52 million).
During FY23, Vijayakumar, at the helm of India's third-largest IT services firm, received a base salary of $2 million, a performance-linked bonus of $1.43 million, and benefits, perquisites, and allowances worth $0.03 million, totaling $3.46 million.
The significant decline in his pay is primarily attributed to the long-term incentive (LTI) structure implemented by HCLTech. In the preceding fiscal year (FY22), Vijayakumar earned $12.50 million in LTI. However, the LTI for both FY22 and FY23 will be paid at the end of FY24.
“The long-term incentive (LTI) is paid at fixed intervals (at the end of two years) based on the achievement of milestones/parameters decided by the board. Accordingly, the LTI related to performance for FY 2021-22 and for FY 2022-23 shall be paid during FY 2023-24,” said the report.
The CEO's salary in FY23 was 253.35 times higher than the median pay at HCLTech. The company, as of March 31, reported a global workforce of 2,25,944 employees spread across 210 delivery centers in 60 countries.
On average, employees witnessed a salary increase of 5.14 percent during the year. Conversely, managerial personnel, including executive directors, non-executive directors, and independent directors, experienced a 5.28 percent decrease in remuneration compared to the previous year.
When compared with other CEOs of top IT companies in India, Vijayakumar's earnings were notably lower in FY23. Tata Consultancy Services' former CEO, Rajesh Gopinathan, earned Rs 29.16 crore, Tech Mahindra CEO CP Gurnani earned Rs 32 crore, Infosys CEO Salil Parekh earned Rs 56.44 crore, and Wipro CEO Thierry Delaporte emerged as the highest paid with Rs 82.4 crore. All CEOs, except Gopinathan, witnessed a decline in pay during FY23.
In a letter to shareholders, Vijayakumar said that in FY24, they continue to operate in an “environment of high volatility”.
“A combination of factors including geopolitical uncertainties, rising inflation, and softening of consumer spending in a few sectors are creating some turbulence in the market,” he said, adding that the rally in tech spending is stabilizing, clients are consolidating tech spends and are focussing on cost-effective and revenue-impacting technologies.
— Harshita Kumar
