Newly-appointed Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka will draw an annual salary of $5.08 million (over Rs. 30 crore).
In addition, he will also receive $2 million in stock options, placing him atop the list of well-paid Indian CEOs.
Including all benefits and stock options, Mr. Sikka's current salary stands at $7.08 million, a figure that is roughly comparable to the 4.23 million euros (Rs. 34 crore) he was making at his previous job as CTO at German software major SAP. His annual base salary is $900,000, with $4.18 million as variable pay, Infosys said in a regulatory filing to the BSE on Wednesday.
Big league Though his pay isn't in the Silicon Valley league—his peers in global tech are paid at least three times the remuneration—he is certainly the highest paid in India.
He takes home at least 60 per cent more than the highest paid CEO in the Indian software industry, TCS CEO N. Chandrasekaran. Wipro CEO T.K. Kurien made Rs. 6.55 crore in 2013-14, while iGate's Ashok Vemuri made Rs. 16.2 crore in the last fiscal. Up until now, executive salaries at Infosys have not been a subject of speculation, given that founder CEOs took home much more in terms of dividend earnings.
More money Incumbent CEO S.D. Shibulal, according to Infosys' annual report, took home $26,000. He, however, earned much more from his stake in the company. Company President B.G. Srinivas, who resigned in the thick of the CEO race last month, was the highest paid with a compensation of $1.3 million (around Rs. 7.8 crore).
Infosys also announced that it was holding its Extraordinary General Meeting on July 30.
Apart from approving the appointment of Mr. Sikka, the agenda includes seeking approvals for the appointments of K.V. Kamath and R. Seshasayee as independent directors on the Infosys Board.
Mr. Sikka is slated to take up the top job on August 1, replacing Mr. Shibulal. He will be the first non-founder CEO of the IT major.
