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HCLTech CEO C Vijayakumar
HCLTech’s 57-year-old CEO C Vijayakumar remains the highest-paid chief executive in the Indian IT industry for a second year in a row, with a pay package of $10.85 million (approximately Rs 94.6 crore) in FY25. His remuneration had outpaced that of heads at larger rivals such as Infosys, Wipro, TCS and Tech Mahindra.
The HCLTech boss’s pay package includes base salary, performance-linked incentives, stock awards, and other benefits.
In FY24, he earned $10.06 million (around Rs 84.17 crore), a 190 per cent jump from the previous year.
In FY25, the HCLTech board approved a 71 per cent hike in Vijayakumar’s annual remuneration for the coming year, setting his FY26 package at $18.6 million, or about Rs 154 crore.
"Under C Vijayakumar's leadership, HCLTech's market capitalisation 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 capitalisation of the other four leading Indian listed IT services firms among the top five has grown by approximately 2.5 times," the company stated in its annual report.
Infosys CEO Salil Parekh earned Rs 80.62 crore in FY25, Wipro’s Srinivas Pallia earned Rs 53.64 crore. Tech Mahindra CEO Mohit Joshi was paid Rs 52.1 crore, and TCS’s K Krithivasan earned Rs 26.5 crore in FY25.
Vijayakumar is not only the highest-paid CEO in the industry, but his package far exceeds that of his peers.
His FY25 compensation comprised a base salary of $1.96 million, a variable bonus of $1.73 million and long-term incentives valued at $6.96 million, with additional benefits and perquisites worth $0.2 million, as shared in HCLTech’s filings.
In FY23, Wipro’s Thierry Delaporte headed the list with a package of Rs 82 crore, followed by Parekh and Vijayakumar.
Who is C Vijayakumar?
Vijayakumar holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics engineering from P.S.G. College of Technology in Tamil Nadu, India. He joined HCL Comnet, a wholly owned subsidiary of HCL Technologies, in 1994 as a Senior Engineer. As part of the founding team of HCL Comnet, he played a key role in establishing the Remote Infrastructure Management proposition, which has since evolved into a multi-billion-dollar global industry.
At HCLTech, he performed a variety of leadership roles spanning technology, business, and operations. His strategic foresight and ability to execute complex initiatives have earned him widespread recognition in the industry.
Tamil Nadu-born Vijayakumar became HCLTech’s CEO in October 2016 and its Managing Director in July 2021. He was rated by Business Today as the Best CEO of the Year, 2020, in the IT/ITES Industry.