Indian CEOs’ Average Salary Increases by 40% to 14 Crore Rs Pre-Covid: Deloitte Report

According to the Deloitte India Executive Performance and Rewards Survey 2024, the average CEO compensation stands at Rs 13.8 crore. Meanwhile, CEOs who were also promoters or members of the promoter family are paid Rs 16.7 crore on average.

Anandorup Ghose, Partner, CHRO Programme Leader at Deloitte India, noted that the wide range of promoter CEO compensation affects the higher averages. The survey highlighted that while CEO compensation has increased, more than 50 per cent of target compensation is ‘pay-at-risk’.

The survey also revealed that professional CEOs have a higher pay-at-risk at 57 per cent compared to promoter CEOs at 47 per cent. Additionally, professional CEOs have 25 per cent of their target compensation delivered through long-term incentives, mostly in the form of share-linked incentives.

The report stated that the wide gap between median and average CEO compensation indicates the wide range of compensation numbers and some outliers on the higher end. Many companies use a holistic scorecard that includes a mix of financial and non-financial metrics and targets in assessing CEO and CXO (chief experience officer) performance.

However, the incentives for CEOs and CXOs are still tilted towards financial company-level goals within those scorecards. Regarding long-term incentives, the survey revealed that the percentage of companies using share-based incentives continued to increase (75 per cent in 2024 vs 63 per cent in 2020), while the prevalence of stock options or ESOPs continued to decrease (49 per cent of companies in 2024 vs 68 per cent in 2020).

An analysis of CEO changes in BSE 200 companies (excluding PSUs) revealed that 45 per cent of companies witnessed a CEO change over the past five years. Furthermore, the survey found that six of every 10 new CEOs are homegrown (internally appointed) and the remaining four CEOs were external hires.

The fifth edition of the Deloitte India Executive Performance and Rewards Survey was launched in September 2023, with more than 400 organizations participating in this India-specific survey. Note: The headline is the only part of this story that has been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.