The board of Infosys, India’s second-largest software services firm, approved the grant of employee stock option plans (ESOPs) of about ₹50 crore to its CEO Salil Parekh, along with granting 5,000 restricted stock units (RSUs) to eligible employees, an exchange filing showed.

The grants are in accordance with Parekh’s employment agreement with Infosys, and in conjunction with his annual performance-based stock incentives that Parekh would receive upon achieving certain performance milestones, as determined by the board.

These milestones pertain to, among others, shareholder returns and ESG targets, and the stock-related remuneration consists of RSUs. Different vesting periods exist for different tranches of RSUs, ranging from 12 months to 24 months.

Meanwhile, the RSUs for other eligible employees will be vested  equally over a period of four years and the exercise price will be equal to the par value of the share.

In FY24, Parekh became the second-highest-paid CEO in India’s IT sector—with an annual remuneration worth ₹66.25 crore—after Wipro’s former CEO Thiery Delaporte's annual compensation worth ₹167 crore.

Parekh's total payout in FY24 included a total fixed salary worth ₹7.47 crore and bonus incentives worth ₹19.75 crore. His perquisites on account of stock options exercised stood at about ₹39 crore, taking his total salary to ₹66.25 crore.

At over $20 million, Delaporte remained the highest-paid CEO in the Indian IT industry for the second consecutive year. According to Wipro, “Reconciling Items” for FY24 included ₹92.1 crore towards employee costs related to the outgoing CEO. 

Delaporte had resigned as the CEO and MD of the company on April 6, 2024. He was relieved from his employment on May 31, 2024. The company said its newly appointed CEO and MD Srini Pallia will get up to $6 million (over ₹50 crore) in annual salary in FY25. Pallia was appointed the CEO and MD on April 6, 2024.