Infosys grants stock units worth Rs 10 crore to CEO Salil Parekh

Infosys’ board on Thursday proposed granting equity shares worth Rs 10 crore to Chief Executive Officer Salil Parekh as part of a new stock incentive plan aimed at retaining talent. 

Chief Operating Officer and Whole-time Director UB Pravin Rao will get shares worth Rs 4 crore. In all, 50 million shares will be allocated to employees, subject to shareholders’ approval, under the initiative called ‘Infosys Expanded Stock Ownership Program 2019’.

"Our employees are our biggest asset, and through this programme, we aim to recognise and reward individuals who are committed to driving value creation for all stakeholders through their continued and consistent performance," said Salil Parekh, CEO & MD of Infosys.

“By making employees owners, they get an opportunity to be beneficiaries in the long-term success of the company and realise the results of their work and dedication," he added.

The new plan is different from Infosys' 2015 plan. “Under the 2015 plan, the grants were largely vested based on time, whereas under the 2019 plan, the grants will vest strictly on performance," the company said in an exchange filing.

The Bengaluru-headquartered firm has faced high attrition levels of close to 20 per cent in recent quarters, one of the highest among its peers. For the quarter ended March 2019, the overall attrition of the IT firm was 20.4 per cent, a rise of 50 basis points over the preceding quarter. "The overall attrition remains high and we are continuing our focus on arresting the same," COO U B Pravin Rao had said during the earnings conference in April.

In 2016, the IT services firm had relaunched its employee stock option plan (ESOP) for junior to middle level management staff after a gap of 13 years. Infosys has also given better salary increments in past years to rein in rising attrition. Thursday’s board meeting also proposed to change the terms of appointment of CEO Parekh by changing the vesting period of equity grants to one year from the current three years.