Meet richest Indian CEO who left Infosys to lead Cognizant, got 14% salary hike in FY24, earns Rs 68 crore year, but still didn’t hit Rs 133 crore target due to...

Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar’s total pay for the financial year 2024 increased by nearly 14%, touching USD 8.2 million (about Rs 68 crore), according to the company’s latest filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). However, this is still below his target compensation of USD 16.1 million (around Rs 133 crore), as some of his stock-based rewards are yet to vest.

Took Charge in 2023, Gets 11% Hike in Target Pay

Ravi Kumar became Cognizant’s CEO in January 2023 after moving from Infosys. The company raised his target direct compensation by 11% for FY24, recognising his performance and aligning his salary with other tech CEOs globally.

In a regulatory filing, Cognizant’s Compensation Committee noted that the decision was based on his first-year performance and trends in CEO pay across peer companies. Hence, his target salary was bumped up to USD 16.1 million.

What His Rs 133 Crore Target Pay Includes

Kumar’s FY24 target pay had four main parts:

Base salary: USD 1.2 million (Rs 10 crore approx), up by 20%

Annual Cash Incentive (ACI): USD 2.4 million (Rs 20 crore approx), also up by 20%

Performance Share Units (PSUs): USD 7.5 million (Rs 62 crore approx), a 9% rise

Restricted Stock Units (RSUs): USD 5 million (Rs 41 crore approx), a 9% rise

Despite this, Kumar didn’t receive the full amount. Since the PSU rewards are tied to future performance, they will vest only if set goals are met.

Realised Pay for FY24: Rs 68 Crore

The actual amount Ravi Kumar took home was around Rs 68 crore, which mainly included:

His full base salary

His annual bonus payout, which was 107.3% of the target

Quarterly vestings of RSUs, worth about USD 4.49 million (Rs 37 crore)

The company clarified that his lower realised pay was expected, as most of his long-term stock grants are still pending future performance milestones.

Among India’s Top Paid CEOs

Ravi Kumar is now among the highest-paid Indian-origin tech CEOs. Here are some others on the list:

HCL Tech CEO C Vijayakumar

Wipro CEO Thierry Delaporte

Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath

Infosys CEO Salil Parekh

L&T CEO S N Subrahmanyan

Persistent Systems CEO Sandeep Kalra