Nooyi, Jha among highest paid CEOs in US: WSJ survey

PepsiCo’s India-born chief Indra Nooyi and Motorola Mobility’s Sanjay Jha are among the highest paid CEOs in the US, according to new estimates that say salaries and bonuses for chief executives running 350 major companies surged 11 per cent to $9.3 million in 2010.

Executives at the biggest US companies saw their pay jump sharply in 2010, as boards rewarded them for strong profit and share-price growth with bigger bonuses and stock grants, the Wall Street Journal said in its latest CEO Compensation survey.

According to the companies’ proxy statements studied for the Journal by management consultancy Hay Group, the median value of salaries, bonuses and long-term incentive awards for CEOs of 350 major companies grew 11 per cent in 2010. This increase followed a year in which “pay for the top boss was flat at these companies”.

In the 350-strong list, Nooyi is among the five CEOs of Indian-origin at the helm of major US corporations. Giving her company on the highest paid CEO list is OfficeMax CEO Ravi Saligram, Motorola’s Jha and Quest Diagnostics’ Surya Mohapatra. Citigroup’s Vikram Pandit comes in last in the list since he earned no compensation in 2010, following his decision to take a $1 salary per year and no other compensation until Citi returns to “sustained profitability”.

Apple boss Steve Jobs also came in at the rear of the list as he too did not take any compensation or salary for 2010.

Nooyi’s total direct compensation in 2010 was $13.78 million, which included her salary of $1.3 million dollars, annual incentives of $3 million, stock option grants of $3.23 million and performance awards totalling $6.25 million. Nooyi’s compensation however declined 0.2 per cent from 2009.

Saligram, who heads the office supplies giant, earned a total compensation of $12.03 million dollars in 2010.