Tata Group CXOs get richly rewarded for steering companies through the pandemic

Source: The Hindu Business Line | July 12, 2022 11:05 PM

Tata Group CXO’s total package have risen in the range of 10-50 per cent during the last year alone

Some of the top-ranking executives at Tata Group companies have surpassed the growth in their pay packages last year compared to previous years following a marked turnaround in the business environment post the Covid-19 pandemic.

The total package, which comprises salary, perquisites, commission and other benefits, have risen in the range of 10-50 per cent during the last year alone, according to data shared by these companies in their annual reports. 

Tata Consultancy Services Managing Director Rajesh Gopinathan has seen his pay package nearly double to  Rs 25.76 crore in FY22 compared to FY20 (Rs13.37 crore), and nearly 27 per cent jump compared to FY21. Gopinathan continued to remain as the highest paid executive among the listed entities of the Tata Group. 

At  Rs 21.45 crore, the Tata Sons Executive Director Saurabh Agarwal was the highest paid executive in FY21. However, his FY22 package is not known as the unlisted Tata Sons is yet to make its annual report public.

After two years (FY19 and FY20) of no change, pay package of TV Narendran, CEO and Managing Director of Tata Steel, jumped nearly 74 per cent last year compared to FY20 (Rs 11.22 crore). Narendran’s FY22 package stood at Rs 19.5 crore, an increase of 25 per cent compared to FY21.

Salary & bonus

Sunil Goel, Managing Director GlobalHunt India, said, “Businesses, who sustained the Covid crisis and made better outcomes, have rewarded their top executives by compensating them in terms of salary and bonus in subsequent years. That sudden global crisis period was also one the real situation test for leadership.”

Tata Power Managing Director Praveer Sinha and Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) Managing Director Puneet Chhatwal, got 11-12 per cent hike in pay of  Rs 7.92 crore and Rs 8.07 crore, respectively. Since the pandemic hit IHCL the most within the Tata group, Chhatwal’s last year’s pay is still 45 per cent less than his pre-pandemic package (Rs 14.56 crore). During the pandemic and just before it, three new faces took over the reins at three different Tata companies. Their pay packages, however, were substantially higher than their predecessors.

CK Venkataraman, who took over as Managing Director of Titan in October 2019, carried home a pay package in FY22 that was not just 50 per cent higher than his predecessor Bhaskar Bhat but equally higher than his FY21 package (Rs 6.99 crore).

Sunil D’Souza, who took over as the Managing Director of Tata Consumer Products in April 2020, was given a package of Rs 7.62 crore in FY22, an increase of 77 per cent than his predecessor Ajoy Misra, whose FY20 package stood at Rs 4.31 crore. However, D’Souza’s FY22 pay was 1.5 per cent lesser than FY21 (Rs 7.74 crore). He was also among the three Tata MDs who saw a cut in pay package in FY22 compared to FY21.

But a few others received pay hikes, which according to market watchers, are rarely seen in the Tata Group.

Conservative

Pradeep Bakshi, Managing Director of Voltas, saw the biggest jump in pay during last year amongst his peers. His package jumped 50 per cent in FY22 to Rs 6.62 crore, as against his FY21 (Rs 4.43 crore) package. Tata Elxsi Managing Director, Manoj Raghavan’s pay leaped 47 per cent in FY22 to Rs 6.62 crore as against FY21 (Rs 4.41 crore). 

Amit Tandon, Founder and Managing Director, Institutional Investor Advisory Services, said, “As a house, the Tatas have been conservative in the matter of executive compensation. Typically, they do not even give senior management ESOPs. What we are seeing now is a reset.”