N Chandrasekaran to be highest-paid Tata Sons chairman

As TCS CEO & MD, his package was Rs 25.6 cr in FY 2015-16, including Rs 19 cr as commission

N Chandrasekaran is likely to be the highest paid chairman of Tata Sons, if his current compensation package at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is retained. As TCS managing director and chief executive, Chandra’s compensation package was Rs 25.6 crore in the financial year 2015-16, including Rs 19 crore as commission, Rs 2.28 crore as salary, Rs 2.64 crore as perquisites and Rs 1.73 crore in other allowances. In FY15, he also got a one-time special bonus of Rs 10 crore.

The remunerations of Tata Sons chairman-elect have not been finalised yet, it is learnt. But sources indicated that his TCS package was likely to be protected.

Cyrus Mistry, who was removed as the chairman of the holding company on October 24, 2016, had drawn a remuneration of Rs 16.25 crore in the financial year 2014-15, according to Tata Sons’ annual filings with the government last year. Mistry’s FY16 remuneration details are not publicly available, but it is believed to have risen by about five to 10 per cent. Mistry’s Rs 16.25-crore package had included Rs 11-crore commission on the profits of Tata Sons and Rs 5 crore as salary.

When Mistry took charge as chairman in 2012, his compensation package was almost at the same level as that of Ratan Tata, who stepped down as Tata Sons chief. Mistry did not ask for a raise, a source said.

While any other candidate for the chairman’s post would have negotiated for salary, it was not a point of discussion in Chandra’s case, it is believed.   
 

Even as Chandra may become the highest-paid Tata Sons chairman, some of the group chief executive officers (CEOs) may still be earning more than him. For instance, Tata Motors CEO and managing director (MD) Guenter Butschek is tipped to take home Rs 27.24 crore in the financial year ending March 2017. Rakesh Sarna, MD and CEO of Indian Hotels, is another highly paid executive. His remuneration package was Rs 18.4 crore annually when he joined in September 2014, according to company records. Tata Steel Europe CEO Hans Fischer’s remuneration is also counted as among the highest in the group, though the exact amount is not available.