Payback Time For CEOs

A Peek Into The Whys And Hows Of CEO Compensation In The Country

- Sonal Khetarpal

A PALPABLE MYSTIQUE and aura pervades the corner office. Its occupants are at the wheel, often biting the bullet and taking paramount decisions. They take the flak for failures but also walk away with the honours when things go as planned, sometimes acquiring cult status. Think Jack Welch, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs. And, at home, Dhirubhai Ambani, N.R. Narayana Murthy, K.V. Kamath, Deepak Parekh.

Superstar CEOs spawn fast-growing and hugely profitable corporations, racking up immense wealth for their shareholders. They are rewarded handsomely for their efforts and waltz into the league of the super rich. Business Today’s 'India’s Highest Paid CEOs' survey tosses up several such success stories. Head honchos, both promoters and professionals, who have assiduously built profit-spewing businesses over the years and are raking in mind boggling remuneration. Some of them already have a halo and their stories are a part of corporate lore. Sunil Mittal, Aditya Puri and A.M. Naik, among others. Some others may not be as well known yet but are on the threshold of entering the big league. Arvind Poddar, Sanjay Agarwal, Vivek Gambhir, et. al. Our study also puts the spotlight on the latest trends in CEO remuneration in India as companies scramble to find the right fit for the top job.

C.P. Gurnani, MD & CEO at Tech Mahindra, is the highest-paid professional CEO in corporate India, taking home ₹150.7 crore in 2016/17. His package grew by a whopping 233 per cent, up from ₹45.36 crore in 2015/16. A.M. Naik, Group Chairman of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) who recently hung up his boots, had a remuneration of ₹78.9 crore, growing 19.3 per cent over the previous year. Aditya Puri, MD at HDFC Bank and the third highest paid professional CEO, saw a more than 100 per cent jump in his package, from ₹31.50 crore to ₹67.5 crore.