Sundar Pichai, who has been CEO of Google since 2015, has recently became CEO of parent company Alphabet when the co-founder Larry Page allegedly stepped down in early December. And now his salary has been raised to $2 million, and the filing cites that Pichai’s “expanded role” as CEO of both the companies is the reason for the pay increase.
However, the man of Indian origin is set to make at least $240 million more if he will stick around and the company hits its targets. Yeah, the CEO of Google and Alphabet will now receive a cash salary of $2 million per year. And report says, if he sticks around and the company hits certain performance targets, he’ll make at least $150 million more.
According to latest reports, in addition to the boosted salary, Pichai also has a compensation package, which includes stock awards worth far more than $2 million; however, some tied to the company’s performance and staying in the role. Alphabet in a statement said that Pichai will be eligible for the first tranche of stock awards depending on the company’s performance against the S&P 100 index over the 2020-2021 period. He will be eligible for the second block depending on the performance against the same metric over the period of 2020-2022.
It is for the first time Alphabet added performance-based stock to executive payouts; however, the practice is common at other major tech companies like Uber, Microsoft, and Apple.
Pichai will also be getting another $120 million in restricted stock units that will vest over time, along with another $30 million “transitional award” in stock that vests in 2020. These earnings however, are not tied to Alphabet’s performance, so Pichai is sure to get them regardless of anything if he remains at the company.
However, Pichai won’t make the list of highest paid tech CEOs in the US even after getting this raise, as it is topped by Oracle’s Mark Hurd at $108.3 million. And at number two it’s Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella whose base salary is $2.3 million, slightly higher than Pichai’s.
