HCLTech CEO C Vijayakumar's remuneration for the financial year 2025-26 saw a staggering 66.9 per cent increase, reaching $18.13 million, largely propelled by long-term incentives and stock options, positioning him as one of the highest-paid executives in the Indian IT sector.
HCLTech chief executive officer and managing director C Vijayakumar drew a total remuneration of $18.13 million (about Rs 175 crore) in the financial year 2025-26, marking a steep increase of nearly 66.9 per cent over the previous year, according to the company's annual report.
Vijayakumar, who is based in the US and draws his salary from the step-down wholly owned subsidiary HCL America Inc., saw his compensation jump primarily due to long-term incentives and stock options.
Breakdown of Compensation
According to the annual report, his pay package for FY26 included a base salary of $2.48 million, a performance-linked bonus of $2 million, and benefits and perquisites amounting to $0.31 million.
The bulk of his remuneration came from a long-term incentive (LTI) cash component of $3.94 million and the perquisite value of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) exercised during the year, which stood at $9.40 million.
The report noted that without considering the LTI payment and the perquisite value of RSUs, the increase in the CEO's remuneration would have been 22.86 per cent.
CEO Pay Compared to Peers
Vijayakumar's compensation places him at the top of his peers in the Indian IT sector. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) CEO and MD K Krithivasan took home a total remuneration of Rs 28 crore in 2025-26, an increase of 6.3 per cent over the previous year.
Infosys's Salil Parekh drew a total remuneration of Rs 82.60 crore in FY 2025-26, marking a 2 per cent increase from the preceding year, while Wipro's Srinivas Pallia drew a total remuneration of $5.29 million (approximately Rs 49.64 crore).
Employee Remuneration and Company Performance
Meanwhile, the annual report revealed that Vijayakumar's remuneration was 291.9 times the median remuneration of HCLTech's global workforce.
The median remuneration of HCLTech employees witnessed an increase of 5.4 per cent during the fiscal year.
As of March 31, there were 170,811 permanent employees on the rolls of the company. In addition, there were 56,370 employees in its subsidiaries.
For FY26, HCLTech recorded a net profit of Rs 16,642 crore, reflecting a 4.30 per cent decline from Rs 17,390 crore in FY25. FY26 revenue stood 11.18 per cent higher at Rs 130,144 crore.