CEO pay grows faster than profits in FY19: Combined compensation rises 6.3%

Experts attribute the relatively slower growth in total compensation to the decline in commissions in line with poor corporate profitability

The economic slowdown has started to weigh on executive compensation for India’s top- listed companies but chief executive officers (CEOs), and other CXOs look better placed than shareholders. The combined compensation of India Inc CEOs including promoter directors and professional board-level executives was up 6.3 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in financial year 2018-19, growing at the slowest pace in at least four years. In comparison, top management compensation was up 35 per cent in the previous year.

The compensation growth was, however, much faster than the underlying growth in corporate profitability. The combined net profit of 118 companies where annual CEO