Satya Nadella, the Indian-origin CEO of Microsoft, will receive USD 79.1 million in fiscal 2024, a substantial increase in compensation. Due primarily to stock awards, this represents a 63 percent increase over the prior year.
This is the highest salary he has received since taking over as CEO in 2014, when he was given USD 84 million. Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI and its developments in artificial intelligence have strengthened its position in the market, which has improved Nadella’s stock-based profits.
In-hand salary is just 10 percent of total package
Nearly 90 percent of Nadella’s 2024 compensation is derived from stock awards, which increased from USD 39 million to about USD 71 million.
Microsoft’s impressive market performance is reflected in this increase; during the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2024, its shares increased 31.2 per cent and its valuation surpassed USD 3 trillion.
Cash compensation reduced after bluescreen fisasco
Nadella asked to have his cash remuneration reduced because of cybersecurity concerns, even though the compensation package was substantial.
The initial budget of USD 10.66 million was reduced to USD 5.2 million in the wake of breaches, including those involving Russian and Chinese actors. Highlighting personal accountability in response to the breaches that drew criticism from the US government, Nadella sought the adjustment himself.
Compensation packages of peer CEOs of tech companies
In contrast, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang received USD 34.2 million in 2024, while Apple CEO Tim Cook received USD 63.2 million in 2023.
Stock perfomance
The shares of Microsoft rose to a life-high level of USD 468.30 per share on July 5, 2024, on the US bourses. The share closed at USD 424.73 per share on the US bourses in the previous trading session that took place on October 24, 2024.
(The article is published under a mutual content partnership arrangement between The Free Press Journal and Connected to India)
