As per a report by Resource Bridge, Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) in India received an average compensation of ₹7.2 crore in fiscal year 2023-2024 (FY24), growing at an annual rate of 9% over the past decade.
In comparison, the report revealed that Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) receive an average annual pay of ₹2.3 crore, growing 1.7 times over the decade. While the CEOs’ pay has doubled over the decade, CFOs have also seen a significant, though moderate, growth.
“CEO’s compensation more than doubled, from ₹3.3 crore in FY15, to ₹7.2 crore in FY24 – a 9 per cent CAGR growth over a 10-year period,” the report revealed. The CEOs within the manufacturing industry seem to be the top earners within their sphere, while CFOs in service-led industries are earning the most when compared to their peers.
Across all sectors and company sizes, CEOs and CFOs within northern India seem to have the highest compensation within the country, while those in the east seem to be earning the least.
Ownership structure also seems to be playing a huge role when it comes to paying those at executive levels. As per the Resource Bridge report, multinational companies (MNCs) continue to pay their leadership more than companies based in India. Moreover, firms that have crossed critical turnover thresholds of ₹5,000 crore, ₹50,000 crore and ₹1 lakh crore show a sharp upward inflexion in executive pay.
It is not just the executive employees who are being paid more by MNCs. According to the report, MNCs in India pay their employees about 10-11% more than their Indian counterparts.