Media365
HCLTech CEO and Managing Director C Vijayakumar’s remuneration jumped nearly 67 per cent to Rs 176.47 crore in FY26, making him the highest-paid chief executive among India’s leading IT services companies for the third consecutive year.
According to HCLTech’s annual report, Vijayakumar’s total remuneration rose 66.98 per cent year-on-year. At around $18.3 million, his pay package significantly exceeded that of the CEOs of the company’s top IT services rivals.
TCS CEO K Krithivasan received remuneration of around Rs 28 crore in FY26, while Infosys CEO Salil Parekh earned Rs 82.6 crore. Wipro CEO Srinivas Pallia took home Rs 49.6 crore, while Tech Mahindra CEO Mohit Joshi’s remuneration stood at around Rs 67.5 crore.
LTM CEO Venu Lambu received remuneration of approximately Rs 27.26 crore during the financial year.
What makes up Vijayakumar’s pay package?
Vijayakumar’s remuneration included a base salary of $2.48 million, a performance-linked bonus of $2 million and a long-term incentive cash component worth $3.94 million.
The largest component of his compensation was the perquisite value of restricted stock units exercised during FY26, which stood at $9.4 million.
His package also included benefits, perquisites and allowances worth around $0.31 million.
Vijayakumar is based in the United States and receives his remuneration from HCL America, a step-down wholly owned subsidiary of HCLTech incorporated under the laws of California.
The HCLTech CEO’s remuneration was about 291.9 times the median remuneration of the company’s employees.
As of 30 June, HCLTech had a total workforce of approximately 227,181 employees.
The company said its workforce is spread across multiple countries and that the median remuneration was calculated after converting the compensation of all global employees into Indian rupee equivalents.
“The Company’s workforce is spread across multiple countries, therefore, the median remuneration of employees has been determined after converting the remuneration of all global employees into Indian Rupee equivalent remuneration using the applicable country-to-India Purchasing Power Parity conversion factor as on March 31, 2026,” HCLTech said in its annual report.
Vijayakumar’s pay rises amid a challenging IT environment
The sharp increase in Vijayakumar’s remuneration comes at a time when the global IT services industry continues to navigate an uncertain business environment, marked by cautious technology spending, macroeconomic pressures and changing demand patterns.
A substantial portion of the HCLTech CEO’s compensation is linked to performance incentives and long-term awards. The value of RSUs exercised during FY26 was the biggest component of his overall remuneration.
Vijayakumar has been HCLTech’s CEO and MD since 2017. Under his leadership, the company has expanded its presence across digital services, cloud computing, engineering and research and development.
The latest pay figures underline the wide gap between executive compensation at India’s largest IT services companies and the median remuneration of their employees. They also highlight the growing role of stock-based and long-term incentive compensation in determining the pay packages of top technology executives.
