Infy CEO Parekh's pay 28% lower than Sikka's

Salil Parekh, who took charge as CEO and MD of Infosys earlier this week, will take home Rs 32.5 crore as his annual package.

That is 28% less than the Rs 44.92 crore package his predecessor Vishal Sikka got on his appointment in 2014.

As the company's second non-founder CEO, Parekh gets a fixed salary of Rs 6.5 crore. He is also eligible for variable pay of Rs 9.75 crore at the end of 2018-19. These add up to Rs 16.25 crore. The rest of his package comes from stocks.

For three months from the date of joining, Parekh is entitled to Rs 2.38 crore as initial variable pay, according to a postal ballot notice filed by the IT major.

During his five-year stint, Parekh will also receive Rs 3.25 crore in restricted stock units, Rs 13 crore in annual performance equity grants, and a one-time equity grant of Rs 9.75 crore. He gets stocks at various points in his term.

Parekh's severance pay has been fixed at 50% of his basic pay and 50% of his bonus in case he is asked to leave the company.

The high severance Infosys paid to former CFO Rajiv Bansal had snowballed into an acrimonious stand-off between the Infosys board and its old guard. As severance, Bansal was granted 10 times his annual compensation. This was seen as a lapse in corporate governance and was linked to the acquisition of Israeli software company Panaya. Murthy wanted the deal scrutinised.

The controversy over the acquisition brought about the downfall of Sikka and R Seshasayee, former chairman of the Infosys board.

Parekh, earlier working with French IT services company Capgemini, has been appointed for a five-year term, with a three-year extension option.

Infosys has redesignated Pravin Rao, interim MD and CEO, as the chief operating officer and whole-time director, the regulatory filing said.