New Delhi [India], July 30 : The average compensation for Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) in India's listed companies touched Rs 7.2 crore, growing at an annual rate of 9 per cent over the last decade, according to a report by executive search firm Resource Bridge.
The report observed that Chief Financial Officers (CFOs), by comparison, drew an average of Rs 2.3 crore, with compensation levels rising 1.7 times over the same period.
The report indicates that CEO compensation has doubled in the last 10 years, while CFO pay has registered a significant, though relatively moderate, growth.
"CEO's compensation more than doubled, from Rs 3.3 crore in FY15, to Rs 7.2 crore in FY24 - a 9 per cent CAGR growth over a 10-year period," the report finds.
Interestingly, CEOs in the manufacturing sector continue to command some of the highest pay packages, while CFOs in service-led industries have emerged as top earners among their peers.
A notable regional disparity also comes through in the data as CEOs and CFOs in northern India command the highest compensation across the country, while those based in the east consistently earn the east. The trend holds across sectors and company sizes.
Ownership structure also plays a decisive role in executive compensation. Multinational corporations, according to the report, continue to outpace Indian-owned firms in terms of pay at the top levels. Additionally, companies that cross critical turnover thresholds of Rs 5,000 crore, Rs 50,000 crore and Rs 1 lakh crore show a sharp upward inflexion in executive pay.
The observation also shows a stark difference in pay between multinational firms and Indian firms. According to the report, multinational companies (MNCs) in India pay their employees about 10-11 per cent more than similar-sized Indian companies.
The CEO Compensation Report 2025 and CFO Compensation Report 2025 are the outcome of a three-month analysis of annual reports from nearly 1,000 listed companies, coupled with open-source financial data in the public domain.
Spanning over 20 industry sectors and backed by data from FY15 to FY24, the report positions itself as one of the most comprehensive compensation studies for top leadership roles in the country.