Advertising
From Pink Slips to Silent Sidelining: Inside adland’s layoff and anxiety crisis
HCLTech CEO C. Vijayakumar earned Rs94.6 Crore in FY25; set to make Rs154 crore next year
HCLTech CEO C. Vijayakumar’s pay jumps from Rs94.6 crore in FY25 to Rs154 crore for next year, making him the highest-paid executive in Indian IT.
C. Vijayakumar, chief executive of HCLTech, emerged as one of the highest-paid executives in India’s technology industry for the 2024-25 fiscal year, earning Rs94.6 crore. His compensation package outpaced those of his peers at larger rivals including Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys.
The company disclosed in its annual report that Vijayakumar’s pay will rise more than 70 percent in the next fiscal year. The board has approved a new compensation package of Rs154 crore for 2025-26, citing his longstanding leadership and HCLTech’s strong market performance during his tenure.
Vijayakumar, who has led the Noida-based firm since 2016, is based in the United States and draws his compensation from HCL America Inc., the company’s wholly owned subsidiary.
His earnings for FY25 included a base salary of $1.96 million, a performance-linked bonus of $1.73 million, and long-term incentives through exercised Restricted Stock Units worth $6.96 million. Additional benefits and perquisites totaled $200,000.
By comparison, K. Krithivasan, CEO of TCS, earned Rs26.52 crore in the same period. Infosys CEO Salil Parekh earned Rs80.62 crore, while Wipro’s chief, Srinivas Pallia, received about ₹53.6 crore. Tech Mahindra CEO Mohit Joshi’s compensation totaled Rs53.9 crore, as per reports.
HCLTech pointed to Vijayakumar’s leadership as a key factor in its growth over the past nine years. From March 2016 to March 2025, the company’s market capitalisation rose nearly 3.8 times — from ₹1.15 trillion to ₹4.32 trillion. In comparison, the other top four Indian IT services firms saw average growth of about 2.5 times during the same period.
In a statement accompanying the annual report, the company said the revised remuneration package acknowledges C. Vijayakumar’s successful and long-tenured leadership as CEO, and reflects his significant contributions to the company’s growth and sustained performance.
SPOTLIGHT
From purpose-driven work and narrative-rich brand films to AI-enabled ideas and creator-led collaborations, the awards reflect the full spectrum of modern creativity.
Read More“Confusion creates opportunity for agile players,” Sir Martin Sorrell on industry consolidation
Looking ahead to the close of 2025 and into 2026, Sorrell sees technology platforms as the clear winners. He described them as “nation states in their own right”, with market capitalisations that exceed the GDPs of many countries.