What about CEOs who are also promoters?

CEOs who are also promoters or members of the promoter family are paid ₹16.7 crore on average, the report said, adding, “Promoter CEO compensation outpacing professional CEO compensation is primarily driven by two factors. Professional CEOs change more often than promoter CEOs due to the longer tenure of promoter CEOs at an aggregate. But it is also important to note that the range of promoter CEO compensation is very wide, and that affects the higher averages.”

CEO salaries: What are the components?

As per the Deloitte report even though CEO compensation has increased, over 50 per cent of target compensation is ‘pay-at-risk’. For professional CEOs, pay-at-risk at 57 per cent is much higher than for promoter CEOs at 47 per cent. Professional CEOs have 25 per cent of their target compensation delivered through long-term incentives like share-linked incentives.

How much is the growth in CEO compensation?

According to Deloitte, CEO compensation in India has witnessed high-single-digit annualised growth rates as “the wide gap between median and average CEO compensation ( ₹9.3 crore versus ₹13.8 crore) indicates the wide range of compensation numbers and some outliers on the higher end.”

Moreover, it noted, “Large Indian companies with more mature and globally aligned compensation practices are pivoting towards Performance Shares and use of multiple incentive plans for different employee cohorts. Conversations in the boardroom have also shifted from the need for share-based payment to the return from these incentive structures to stakeholders,.”