Coming soon: The great Indian CEO hunt

India Inc is likely to fall short of 1,000 leaders in two years

MUMBAI: You have read the growth story. Here is a rider: India Inc’s existential pangs two years down the line will hinge on an expected acute shortage of captains to drive corporate houses. The country will be short of 1,000 CEOs in the next two years, says a survey by HR consultancy Redileon.

The survey says that as surging demand fuels shortage, corporates are ready to shell out big bucks to hire CEOs. The swelling pay packets have no connection with the percentage rise in profits and are purely market driven.

The median salaries of CEOs in the business process outsourcing sector have jumped from Rs40 lakh per annum to Rs2.20 crore in the past four years. Salaries in the IT sector have almost tripled since 2002. The mining and construction sectors will witness the maximum hiring activity. Retailing is also gaining respectability and becoming modernised.

According to Manpower Survey, though the job market is likely to remain vibrant, the insurance and finance sectors are likely to witness a slowdown. While employers’ hiring expectations are strongest in western India, north India anticipates vigorous hiring activity in the first quarter this year.