Independent directors' salaries double in 5 yrs as demand soars

Independent directors are in huge demand and companies are rewarding them handsomely with hefty pay hikes to be on their boards.

- Devina Sengupta

At an average annual increase of 15%, the compensation of independent directors of 50 stock bellwethers doubled over the last five fiscal years, shows a Deloitte study shared exclusively with Mint.

Between 2017-18 and 2022-23, independent directors on the boards of life sciences companies reaped the biggest hikes, although those with IT services firms got paid the most, exceeding ₹1 crore in annual compensation.

 

Overall, four out of 10 independent directors now earn salaries beyond ₹1 crore, compared with just one out of 10 five years earlier, according to Deloitte.