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Sensing a tough economic climate, the country's second-largest IT company Infosys Technologies has announced a salary and promotion freeze.
The company has also cut the variable pay for employees, with the cuts being deeper at the higher levels. In the past few months, Indian IT companies have been increasingly feeling the pressure of fat pay packets on their profit margins. The once so-commonly acceptable astronomical packages of IT pros have now started pinching the bottomlines of the IT companies. Here are some of the top executives in Infosys who get the fattest pay packets.
BG Srinivas, head of European operations and an executive council member, was the highest paid employee at Infosys in the year-ended March 2009. Last year, Srinivas received a total compensation package of Rs 3.07 crore, which includes approximately Rs 1.8 crore towards salary, Rs 1.16 crore towards bonus and incentives. This included an amount of Rs 38 kakh accruing from long-term benefits.
The US-based Ashok Vemuri, head of BFSI and capital markets, took home a total compensation of Rs 4.04 crore (Rs 2.81 crore last year). Last year Vemuri, had received an annual compensation of $704,111 (a little over Rs 2.8 crore).
Among the board members, Mohandas Pai earned the highest compensation package of Rs 2.59 crore. He was followed by CFO Balakrishnan at Rs 2.36 crore (Rs 0.63 crore). Last year, Pai was the third highest earning executive at Infosys. He received an annual package of $443,379 (about Rs 1.8 crore). This included $82,033 (approximately Rs 37 lakh) as annual salary, bonus/incentive of $308,625 (Rs 1.3 crore), other annual compensation of $31,916 (around Rs 14 lakh) and $20,805 (around Rs 9 lakh) towards long-term benefits.
The CEO and MD, S Gopalakrishnan’s total compensation package stood at Rs 92 lakh (Rs 81 lakh) while co-chairman Nandan Nilekani earned Rs 91 lakh (Rs 82 lakh). COO SD Shibulal’s Rs 87 lakh (Rs 78 lakh) was the lowest among key management personnel. NR Narayana Murthy, non-executive chairman and chief mentor, took home a commission of Rs 63 lakh (Rs 50 lakh).
Prof Marti G Subramanyam was the highest paid non-wholetime director at Rs 96 lakh (Rs 59 lakh). Other two names in the Infosys' 2007-08 were Srinath Batni, and Subhash Dhar. Batni received an annual compensation package of $316,207 (little less than Rs 1.3 crore). A member of the Infosys board, Batni is also a director on the board of Infosys Technologies (China) Co Ltd and Infosys Australia Pty Ltd. Dhar is a senior vice-president and heads the communications, media and entertainment business unit at Infosys. He is also a member of the executive council of Infosys and serves on the board of Infosys Australia Pty Ltd. Dhar got an annual compensation package of $248,316 (a little less than Rs 1 crore), in the year 2007-08.
(The list is based on a news report that appeared in a business daily)