CEO salaries surge 0% in just 4 years

Promoter CEOs among best-rewarded in India Inc: Deloitte

- Devina Sengupta

Driven by rising stock markets and growth in key sectors of the economy, corporate honchos are seeing a frenetic rise in salaries, a survey by audit and consulting firm Deloitte has found. Promoter CEO salaries are growing faster than those of professional CEOs, even as performance-based bonuses take centre stage 

The average compensation of a CEO has jumped 40% from the levels in 2020 to 13.8 crore in 2024, according to the Deloitte India Executive Performance Rewards Survey. In contrast, the average salary of junior executives is estimated to have grown at about half that rate over the same period.

CEOs who earn 20 crore or more have doubled in number over the past four years in the survey base of 400 companies comprising both listed and unlisted companies across sectors.

The survey found that promoters are rewarding themselves more than their professional peers. CEOs who are also promoters or members of the promoter family are paid ₹16.7 crore on average, while CEOs at professionally run firms receive an average of 13 crore.