Highest Paid IT CEO? Meet C Vijayakumar, Who Earned Rs 94.6 Crore In FY25; Salary Hiked By 71% In FY26

HCL Technologies CEO and Managing Director C Vijayakumar has bagged the title of highest-paid CEO in the IT sector. During the financial year 2024-25, Vijayakumar took home about $10.85 million, which is approximately Rs 94.6 crore. His salary is higher than that of his peers in Infosys, TCS, and other tech giants. Not just that, Vijayakumar's salary is 662.5 times higher than the median employee remuneration in HCL.

Highest Paid IT CEO:

In FY25, HCL's CEO Vijayakumar got salary package of $10.85 million per annum (approximately Rs 94.6 crore), which is 7.85% up from his package of $10.06 million (around Rs 84.17 crore) in FY24. During the financial year 2023-24, Vijayakumar's salary witnessed a 190% jump.

Vijayakumar's salary surpasses his peers like Infosys' CEO Salil Parekh's pay package, which was around Rs 80.62 crore in FY25. Meanwhile, Wipro and Tech Mahindra's CEOs, Srinivas Pallia and Mohit Joshi earned Rs 53.64 crore and Rs 52.1 crore.

Notably, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which is the largest IT company in India in terms of market value, paid its CEO, K Krithivasan, a package of Rs 26.5 crore in FY25, which is the lowest compared to the other above-mentioned tech giants' CEOs.

Wait, there is more! Vijayakumar has recently been re-appointed as CEO and MD, which will come into effect from September 1, 2025, to March 31, 2030. He is all set to see double-digit growth in his pay package for FY26.

With effect from April 1, 2025, HCL has proposed to increase Vijayakumar's salary by a whopping 71% to $18.60 million, which is approximately Rs 154 crore.

C. Vijayakumar was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer in October 2016. Recognising his exemplary leadership, he was subsequently appointed as the CEO & Managing Director for a five-year term beginning July 20, 2021, and ending July 19, 2026. The said appointment was approved by the members in the Annual General Meeting ("AGM") held on August 27, 2021, as per the filing.

Following his leadership role in HCL, the company has re-appointed him for another five years tenure.

In its FY25 annual report, HCL said, "Over the past nine years, HCL Technologies has transformed into a global digital leader, significantly strengthening its brand, performance, and global relevance. The Board acknowledges C. Vijayakumar's deep understanding of the global IT landscape, his commitment to innovation in a rapidly changing business and technology landscape, and his ability to inspire and lead teams to achieve exceptional outcomes for all stakeholders."

It added, "C. Vijayakumar has guided HCL Technologies through a pivotal growth phase, successfully transitioning the Company into a digital-first, client-centric global technology
leader. His leadership has been characterized by sharp strategic clarity, operational resilience, and
relentless focus on value creation for all the stakeholders."

Further, HCL said, "Under C. Vijayakumar's leadership, HCLTech' s market capitalization has increased from Rs 1,15,000 crore on March 31, 2016, to Rs 4,32,000 crore on March 31, 2025, reflecting a growth of 3.8 times since FY16. Over the same period, the market capitalization of the other four leading Indianlisted IT services firms among the top five has grown by approximately 2.5 times."

"C. Vijayakumar has driven significant growth through a client-centric approach, expanding HCLTech's global footprint and strengthening service excellence. From FY16 to FY25, the number of $100M+ clients increased from 8 to 22, $50M+ clients from 19 to 52, and $20M+ clients from 75 to 138," it further said.

That being said, HCL highlighted that under Vijayakumar's leadership, the company has demonstrated sustained, top-tier performance across critical financial metrics over the nine-year period from FY16 to FY25. Here's what they are:

- Revenue CAGR: 9.3% - Highest among the comparison set

- EBIT CAGR: 8.1% - Second highest among the comparison set

- Net Income CAGR: 6.9% - Second highest among the comparison set

- Free Cash Flow CAGR: 12% - Highest among the comparison set (adjusted for one-time benefit in FY25)

The comparison set includes Accenture, TCS, Infosys, Cognizant, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, and HCLTech.

In terms of technology and innovation, HCL said, C. Vijayakumar has led the strategic expansion of HCLTech' s portfolio across high-growth areas such as cloud, digital business, cybersecurity, digital engineering, and software products, while also establishing early success in AI-led offerings. His forward-looking vision has enabled the Company to build deep partnerships with leading hyperscalers and technology companies and invest in scalable platforms, significantly enhancing HCLTech's differentiation in a fast-evolving and competitive technology landscape.