Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar’s 2024 Pay Package Set at ₹137 Crore, Here Are His Real Earnings

While Ravi Kumar’s target compensation was ₹137 crore in FY 2024, his realised salary stood at ₹70 crore due to unvested performance-linked stock grants.

New Delhi | April 21, 2025
Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar, one of the top-paid executives in the IT sector, had his target pay package for 2024 pegged at ₹137 crore ($16.1 million). However, according to the company’s recent SEC filing, Kumar’s realised compensation for the year was ₹70 crore ($8.2 million).

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The difference stems from unvested Performance Share Units (PSUs)—a portion of his compensation that is contingent upon meeting future performance goals.

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📊 Key Compensation Highlights:

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• Target Compensation (2024): $16.1 million (~₹137 crore)
• Realised Compensation (2024): $8.2 million (~₹70 crore)
• Compensation in 2023: $22.6 million (included a one-time equity award)
• CEO-to-Median Employee Pay Ratio: 378:1

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🧾 What His Pay Includes:

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• Base Salary
• Annual Cash Incentive (ACI)
• Quarterly vesting of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)
• Performance-linked Stock Grants (PSUs – not yet vested)

The Compensation Committee of Cognizant stated that the 11% hike in Kumar’s target compensation this year was to reward his leadership in his first full year as CEO and to align with peer-level executive pay standards.

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👨‍💼 About Ravi Kumar:

• Former President of Infosys (2016–2022)
• Engineering graduate from Shivaji University, Kolhapur
• MBA from Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar
• Took charge of Cognizant in early 2023

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🏢 Company Snapshot:

• Total Employees (as of Dec 2024): ~336,800
  • India: 241,500
  • North America: 42,800

Despite a drop in his actual earnings from 2023 (due to the absence of one-time equity grants), Kumar’s compensation trajectory highlights his growing influence at Cognizant and reflects the increasing gap in executive-to-employee pay within the tech industry.

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Tags: Cognizant CEO Salary, Ravi Kumar Cognizant, IT Salary India, Cognizant Employee Pay Ratio, Tech Executive Compensation