HCLTech CEO C Vijayakumar Earns $10.85 Million In FY25, Surpasses TCS & Infosys Chiefs In Compensation

Key Highlights:

- Vijayakumar's FY25 compensation: USD 10.85 million (Rs 94.6 crore), highest among Indian IT CEOs.

- FY26 pay approved at USD 18.6 million — a 71 percent hike.

- HCLTech's market cap grew 3.8x under his tenure since 2016.

New Delhi: HCLTech CEO C Vijayakumar earned USD 10.85 million (about Rs 94.6 crore) in the financial year 2024-25, making him one of the highest-paid executives in the Indian IT sector and surpassing the earnings of chiefs at larger rivals TCS and Infosys.

The company's board has also approved an over 71 per cent increase in his current remuneration to USD 18.6 million (about Rs 154 crore) for the next financial year, according to the company's annual report.

Vijayakumar's FY25 compensation places him ahead of his peers at India's top two IT firms.

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For the same period, TCS CEO K Krithivasan's remuneration was Rs 26.52 crore, while Infosys CEO Salil Parekh earned Rs 80.62 crore. Vijayakumar's earnings also topped those of Wipro CEO Srinivas Pallia (USD 6.2 million or about Rs 53.64 crore) and Tech Mahindra CEO Mohit Joshi (Rs 53.9 crore).

According to HCLTech's annual report, Vijayakumar's total remuneration in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025, comprised a base salary of USD 1.96 million and a performance-linked bonus of USD 1.73 million.

The largest portion of his earnings came from long-term incentives, with exercised Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) valued at USD 6.96 million. An additional USD 0.20 million was provided in benefits and perquisites.

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Vijayakumar, who took over as the CEO in 2016, is based in the US and draws his remuneration from HCL America Inc., the firm's wholly-owned US subsidiary.

"Under C. Vijayakumar's leadership, HCLTech's market capitalisation has increased from Rs 1,15,000 crore on March 31, 2016, to Rs 4,32,000 crore on March 31, 2025, reflecting a growth of 3.8 times since FY16. Over the same period, the market capitalisation of the other four leading Indian listed IT services firms among the top five has grown by approximately 2.5 times," the company said.

The company's board has approved a revised remuneration package for Vijayakumar, effective April 1, 2025. The proposed annual salary is set at USD 18.6 million, marking a 71 per cent increase from his FY25 earnings.

The proposed structure significantly increases both fixed and performance-linked components.

"The revised compensation acknowledges C Vijayakumar's successful and long-tenured leadership as CEO, recognising his significant contributions to the company's growth and sustained performance over the years," the report said.

HCL Technologies posted a 9.7 per cent drop to Rs 3,843 crore in consolidated net profit for the June quarter, hurt by higher expenses and one-time impact of a client bankruptcy, but raised the lower end of revenue growth outlook for the full fiscal to 3-5 per cent (from 2-5 per cent earlier) on booking expectations in coming quarters.

Shares of HCLTech settled 0.98 per cent lower at Rs 1,452.95 apiece on the BSE on Friday.

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