HCLTech CEO C Vijayakumar secures 71% hike amid somber IT industry mood
The health of the Indian IT sector is rather indifferent with all the IT majors reporting single digit revenue growth figures for the April-June period ie, Q1 of FY26. However, that has not stopped HCLTech CEO C Vijayakumar to secure a 71% pay hike putting heads of TCS and Infosys behind in salary sweepstakes.
Kolkata: All is not well with the Indian information technology industry. In the first quarter of the current financial year (FY26), the IT majors could not record anything more than single digit revenue growth in a sector that has languished under geopolitical uncertainty, macroeconomic sluggishness, tardy pace of decisions by clients in the US and Europe. TCS, the country's biggest IT services exporter, has sent shivers down the spine of the entire sector with the announcement of 12,000 lost of jobs. Expert organisations are suggesting that the US retaliatory tariff of 25% on India could send ripple effects that can cast another shadow on the IT sector.
Against this backdrop, C Vijayakumar, who is the CEO of HCLTech, has shot into the headlines securing a pay hike of 71%. The board of the company has fixed Vijayakumar's salary at Rs 154 crore or (18.6 million), revealed the annual report of the company for FY25. His compensation surged far ahead of the peer group -- Rs 80.62 crore of Infosys CEO Salil Parekh, Rs 26.52 crore of TCS CEO K Krithivasan, Rs 53.64 crore of Wipro CEO Srinivas Pallia and Rs 53.9 crore of Tech Mahindra CEO Mohit Joshi.
0-2% revenue growth, predicts CareEdge Ratings
According to a report by CareEdge Ratings, the IT sector is probably heading for a 0-2% revenue growth in the ongoing financial year. The agency has attributed the marked slowdown to cost pressure from clients and continued macroeconomic uncertainties. "The Indian IT sector is expected to witness a flat revenue growth of 0 to 2 per cent in FY26 as compared to the previous year in terms of constant currency revenue growth," mentioned the report on the sector.
However, a significant deal pipeline has also been mentioned as offering a ray of hope. It is a time for preparing for the future as Indian IT companies are drawing up blueprints to invest in generative AI, cybersecurity, cloud transformation, data analytics etc.
Reward for contributions says board
"Under C. Vijayakumar's leadership, HCLTech's market capitalisation has increased from Rs 1,15,000 crore on March 31, 2016, to Rs 4,32,000 crore on March 31, 2025, reflecting a growth of 3.8 times since FY16. Over the same period, the market capitalisation of the other four leading Indian listed IT services firms among the top five has grown by approximately 2.5 times... The revised compensation acknowledges C Vijayakumar's successful and long-tenured leadership as CEO, recognising his significant contributions to the company's growth and sustained performance over the years," the HCLTech board mentioned.
Vijayakumar has been leading the company since 2016. He took over the reins of the company that year and is located in the US. HCL America Inc, which is a 100% subsidiary of the group, is the vehicle through which the CEO is paid. This year he has been reappointed for a third term of five years.