Delaporte to be highest-paid Wipro CEO; here's how much he'll take home as salary

Wipro's new Chief Executive Officer Thierry Delaporte is set to become not only the highest-paid CEO of Wipro but perhaps one of the best-paid CEOs in the Indian IT tech space. Thierry, who will take over the role as CEO and MD from July 6, could take home nearly Rs 50 crore this year, along with stock option benefits. He has been appointed as the company CEO for five years till July 5, 2025, according to the latest company filing.

His remuneration will include several components apart from the usual cash and stock option that are given to CEOs by companies. Being the first non-Indian CEO, Thierry's basic pay would be in the range of Rs 9.12-11.9 crore (1.07mn-1.4mn Euros per annum), with a target variable pay of Rs 14.4-21.3 crore (1.7-2.5 Euros per annum). He will also be eligible for an expatriate allowance in the range of Rs 3.6-4.7 crore (428,000-550,000 Euros), which will be applicable for assignments outside France and India, determined by the company and based on the actual days of such travel. Wipro will also be offering him a one-time cash award of $3 million dollars or Rs 22.8 crore payable over two equal tranches (the first tranche of  $1.5mn is payable on July 31, 2020, and the second tranche of $1.5mn is payable on July 31, 2021).

The company will also grant 1.2 MN ADS (American Depositary Share) restricted stock units comprising 300,000 ADS Restricted Units (RSUs) and 900,000 ADS Performance Stock Units (PSUs). While the 300,000 units will vest in three instalments over 3 years, the PSUs will vest in full on July 1, 2022, subject to performance. At the end of the day on Friday, Wipro's common stock was trading at $3.3 apiece.

In comparison, former CEO Abidali Z Neemuchwala's pay looks pale. However, it's not an apple-to-apple the comparison given Abid's earlier roles in TCS is not comparable to Thierry's vast experience in various roles at Capgemini across different geographies and handling scale and experience. The former CEO's remuneration for the year, including stock options, stood at Rs 32.28 crore for 2020, an 18.15 per cent the increase compared to the previous year.

READ: Inside Wipro's new CEO appointment: How IT firm got lucky with Thierry Delaporte