Rishad Premji, executive chairman of Wipro, accepts a wage decrease

For the second year in a row, Rishad Premji, the executive chairman of Wipro, did not earn any commission or variable remuneration in FY24.

As to Wipro’s 20-F filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the company’s incremental consolidated net profit for the fiscal year was negative, meaning that the commission or variable was withheld.

With a total remuneration of $20.11 million (about Rs 166.5 crore) in FY24, the company’s previous CEO, Thierry Delaporte, was named the highest-paid CEO among Indian IT businesses for the second year in a row.

A commission of 0.35% of the company’s increased consolidated net earnings over the preceding fiscal year is due to Premji.

He also received a wage reduction in FY24, with his overall income going from $951,353 (about Rs 7.9 crore) to $769,456 (about Rs 6.5 crore), a decrease of around 20%. His pay decreased as a consequence, from $861,000 (about Rs 7.2 crore) a year earlier to $692,641 (around Rs 5.8 crore), with the remaining amount being other long-term remuneration.

Furthermore, in FY24, he did not get any stock options. Premji was reappointed to the position of chairman for a further five years, ending on July 30, 2029, after taking over in 2019.

Wipro’s sales fell by 3.8% to Rs 89,760 crore in FY24. For the first quarter of FY25, the firm has forecast for sales growth between -1.5% and 0.5%, citing ongoing weakness in demand and a challenging macroeconomic climate.

Delaporte received a salary of $3.9 million, variable pay of $5.06 million, long-term compensation of $4.32 million, and additional benefits totaling $6.84 million as part of his remuneration package.

Despite his resignation in April, he received a $11 million (about Rs 92.1 crore) severance package. According to their contract, Wipro had to provide Delaporte severance money equivalent to a year’s worth of base pay spaced a year from the date of termination.

The 32-year Wipro veteran who succeeded Delaporte, Srinivas Pallia, was hired in April and given an annual compensation package of almost Rs 50 crore, which is the second-highest among CEOs in the Indian IT sector for FY25. Salil Parekh, the CEO of Infosys, took home Rs 56 crore, while C Vijayakumar of HCLTech took home Rs 28.4 crore in the preceding fiscal year.