At Rs 29.16 cr, former TCS CEO Gopinathan earned 13% more in FY23 than FY22

Rajesh Gopinathan, the former CEO of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), earned Rs 29.16 crore in FY23, up 13.17 per cent from FY22, said the company in its annual report.

His compensation increased by 26.6 per cent in FY22. Gopinathan received a compensation of Rs 25.75 crore, making him the fifth-highest-paid CEO in the Indian IT services sector.

Gopinathan abruptly left his position as CEO of TCS in March 2023, four years before the end of his term. K Krithivasan has since taken over as CEO.

TCS' performance in FY23

"TCS has done well in a volatile global environment in the year gone by," chairman N Chandrasekaran wrote in a letter to the shareholders.

TCS delivered 17.6 per cent growth in FY23, with an industry-leading operating margin of 24.1 per cent, he added.

“I would like to thank Rajesh Gopinathan for his contribution during his tenure as CEO & MD and I wish him the very best for the future. I also take this opportunity to wish K Krithivasan the very best in his new role as CEO and MD of your company,” he said.

K Krithivasan, MD and CEO of TCS said, "TCS has a very strong leadership team and a workforce that is highly motivated. It is my privilege to lead this talented team."

"We closed the year with an order book of $34.1 billion. This along with the strong pipeline replenishment gives us good visibility for the medium term," he added.

During the same time period, COO N G Subramaniam earned a total compensation of Rs 23.59 crore, an increase of 14 per cent year-on-year (YoY). In FY22, it had increased by 18 per cent.

Gopinathan’s remuneration stood at 427 times the median employee remuneration of the company.

The average annual increase in employee salaries through the year at TCS was in the range of five-eight per cent in India. However, after taking into account promotions and other event-based compensation revisions, the total increase over the course of the year is in the range of six-nine per cent, said the company.

Employees outside of India received pay raises ranging from 1.5 to 5.5 per cent, it added.

50% cut in Rishad Premji’s FY23 pay

Due to the poor performance of the IT services business, Wipro executive chairman Rishad Premji's compensation fell by almost 50 per cent in the fiscal year 2022–23 compared to the prior year, company filings show.

According to international financial reporting standards (IFRS) for American depository shareholders (ADS), Premji's salary for FY22 was $1,819,022 (Rs 15 crore), a decrease of 47 per cent to $951,353 (Rs 7.9 crore), as stated in the company's annual report to the US SEC.

Meanwhile, Wipro CEO and MD Thierry Delaporte's compensation fell five per cent in FY23 to $10 million (Rs 83 crore) from Rs 79.8 crore in FY22. Over the course of the year, his compensation was reduced by five per cent in dollar terms.

Highest-paid CEOs in FY22

C Vijayakumar, the CEO of HCL, was the highest-paid CEO in FY22. According to the company's annual report, Vijaykumar was paid Rs 123.13 crore in FY22.

Infosys CEO Salil Parekh was the third-highest-paid CEO of an IT firm in India. He made Rs 71.02 crore in FY22. Parekh is expected to serve as the company's CEO until 2027.

CP Gurnani, CEO of Tech Mahindra, is the fourth highest-paid CEO. He earned a total compensation of Rs 63.4 crore in FY22. This represented an 189 per cent increase over FY21.