Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar saw massive pay cut in 2024 due to…, still received package 378 times higher than average employees, his salary was Rs…

According to a regulatory filing by Cognizant, its CEO Ravi Kumar received a total compensation of Rs 70 crore in FY2024 including base salary, annual cash incentives, and restricted stock units.

Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar S received only half of his Rs 137 crore salary package in financial year 2024, but his salary package was still a whopping 378 times higher than an average employee of the IT firm. According to a regulatory filing by Cognizant with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), its CEO Ravi Kumar received a total compensation of Rs 70 crore in FY2024 including base salary, annual cash incentives, and restricted stock units.

The company provided details of the CEO’s Rs 137 crore salary, which includes a base salary of Rs 10.25 crore ($1.2 million), Rs 20.49 crore ($2.4 million) in Annual Cash Incentive (ACI) Target, Performance share units (PSUs) worth Rs 64 crore ($7.5 million), and Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) valued at Rs 42.68 crore ($5 million).

Why CEO Ravi Kumar received half pay?

As per the details furnished by Cognizant, Ravi Kumar’s performance share unit grants accounted for half of the CEO’s salary package, with base salary, annual cash incentives, and restricted stock units, contributing a major chunk to his FY24 earnings.

CEO’s salary still 378 higher than average employees

However, despite the significant pay cut, Cognizant’s CEO-employee pay ratio in 2024 was still 378:1, which means Ravi Kumar S made 378 times more money than an average employee of the company. The figure underlines a widening gulf in the pay levels of regular employees and top executives in the IT sector.

Notably, more than 2,41,500 of Cognizant’s 3,36,800 employees are based in India.

Indian IT CEO received pay hike despite dowturn

The revelation comes amidst reports of several Indian IT majors giving their top executives higher pay in 2024 compared to 2023, despite the the country’s IT industry facing an economic crunch and reduced tech spending. According to a report by The Economic Times, Salil Parekh, the CEO of Infosys, witnessed pay hike by over a sixth, reaching Rs 66 crore in the last fiscal, as per the company’s FY24 annual report.

LTIMindtree, CEO and MD Debashis Chatterjee saw a 10% hike in his total annual pay, which rose to Rs 19.34 crore in FY24, while Amit Chadha, CEO and MD of L&T Technology Services (a subsidiary of the L&T Group), saw his compensation more than double to Rs 15.4 crore in FY24 from Rs 7.3 crore in FY23, the report said.