Snowflake CEO becomes one of the best-paid tech executives, collects $108 mn salary every month

Frank Slootman’s pay includes more than 13.7 million options with a strike price of $8.88.

Agencies
Frank Slootman gets a $375,000 annual base salary, which can go higher depending on Snowflake’s performance.
Snowflake Inc. is doing well by any stretch of the imagination.

This week, the cloud-computing company reported that third-quarter revenue more than doubled from a year earlier, and its stock has surged 223% since its Sept. 15 initial public offering.

That has helped make Chief Executive Officer Frank Slootman one of the best-paid technology executives. A compensation package he received upon joining Snowflake in April 2019 awards him a batch of options every month - for four years - that are now worth more than $108 million each, or about $1.3 billion annually.


Slootman’s pay includes more than 13.7 million options with a strike price of $8.88. The vast majority can already be exercised but the underlying shares vest monthly over four years, beginning with the month he started.

He also gets a $375,000 annual base salary, which can go higher depending on the firm’s performance.

Once the full options package is paid out in early 2023, it would be worth about $5.2 billion based on the latest share price. Snowflake shares jumped more than 14% on Friday to $387.70.
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A spokeswoman for San Mateo, California-based Snowflake declined to comment on Slootman’s pay package or net worth.

He hasn’t exercised any of his options and his shares are subject to a lockup period that ends in March.

The monster pay package is partly a result of Snowflake’s surging valuation. In October 2018, about six months before Slootman joined and negotiated his compensation, the company raised funds at a valuation of about $3.5 billion. It’s now worth almost $110 billion.

Chief Financial Officer Michael Scarpelli, who joined a few months after Slootman, has a similar compensation structure. His options are worth about $29 million a month. Snowflake co-founder Benoit Dageville, who’s also chief technology officer, owns a $3.1 billion stake.
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Snowflake is the third CEO gig for the Dutch-born Slootman in less than 20 years. He led data-storage firm Data Domain from 2003 until its takeover by EMC Corp. in 2009, then ran cloud-service firm ServiceNow Inc. from 2011 to 2017.
Mukesh Ambani's Rs 15 Cr Salary Isn't As Interesting: These Top Bosses Earn More Than Him
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Mukesh Ambani
Chairman and MD, RIL
Pay package: Rs 15 crore

When your net worth is approximately $50 billion, a no pay hike isn’t a major cause for concern. In fact, at that level, an annual salary figure of Rs 15 crore itself could feel like pocket change — even though this compensation includes salary and allowances, perquisites, retiral benefits and commission.

“Compensation of Shri Mukesh D. Ambani, chairman and managing director, has been set at Rs 15 crore, reflecting his desire to continue to set a personal example for moderation in managerial compensation levels,” says RIL’s annual report for 2018-19.

Reliance promoters also received a dividend of Rs 1,778 crore (approx).

Here are some top ranking C-suite members (within the non-promoter group), and are still higher on the salary front in FY19.

Mukesh Ambani Chairman and MD, RIL Pay package: Rs 15 crore When your net worth is approximately $50 billion, a no pay hike isn’t a major cause for concern. In fact, at that level, an annual s..
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SN Subrahmanyan
MD of Larsen & Toubro
Pay package: Rs 48.45 crore (FY19)

SNS or SN, as he is popularly known in industry circles, took over the reins of the company in July 2017. With a degree in civil engineering and post-graduation in business management, SNS commenced his professional journey with L&T in 1984 as a project planning engineer.
SN Subrahmanyan MD of Larsen & Toubro Pay package: Rs 48.45 crore (FY19) SNS or SN, as he is popularly known in industry circles, took over the reins of the company in July 2017. With a degree in ci..
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R Shankar Raman
CFO of Larsen & Toubro
Pay package: Rs 25.08 crore (FY19)

He joined L&T Group in November 1994 to set up L&T Finance Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary. Shankar Raman is a qualified chartered accountant and a cost accountant, and has worked for leading listed corporates in varied capacities in the field of finance over the past 35 years.
R Shankar Raman CFO of Larsen & Toubro Pay package: Rs 25.08 crore (FY19) He joined L&T Group in November 1994 to set up L&T Finance Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary. Shankar Raman is a qualified ..
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Hital Meswani
ED of RIL
Pay package: Rs 20.57 crore (FY19)

He is the son of Rasiklal Meswani, one of the founder directors of RIL. In an earlier interview, Mukesh Ambani had referred to ‘Rasikbhai’ as his first boss. Hital joined RIL in 1990 and was designated as the executive director, RIL, since August 4, 1995.
Hital Meswani ED of RIL Pay package: Rs 20.57 crore (FY19) He is the son of Rasiklal Meswani, one of the founder directors of RIL. In an earlier interview, Mukesh Ambani had referred to ‘Rasikbhai’ ..
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Nikhil Meswani
ED of RIL
Pay package: Rs 20.57 crore (FY19)

Hital’s brother Nikhil is also a key part of Mukesh Ambani’s core team. He joined Reliance in 1986, and since July 01, 1988, he has been a whole-time director, designated as executive director, on the board of the company. He is also involved in the affairs of Reliance-owned Indian Premier League cricket franchise Mumbai Indians and other sports initiatives of the company, as per his bio on the company website.
Nikhil Meswani ED of RIL Pay package: Rs 20.57 crore (FY19) Hital’s brother Nikhil is also a key part of Mukesh Ambani’s core team. He joined Reliance in 1986, and since July 01, 1988, he has been a..
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Salil Parekh
CEO of Infosys
Pay package: Rs 17.03 crore (FY19)

He is only the second non-promoter CEO of Infosys after Vishal Sikka, who occupied the position for three years. Parekh stepped into the corner office early last year. Before Infosys, Parekh was a member of the group executive board at Capgemini, where he held several leadership positions for 25 years.
Salil Parekh CEO of Infosys Pay package: Rs 17.03 crore (FY19) He is only the second non-promoter CEO of Infosys after Vishal Sikka, who occupied the position for three years. Parekh stepped into th..
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Rajesh Gopinathan
CEO of Tata Consultancy Services
Pay package: Rs 16.03 crore (FY19)

Gopinathan had huge shoes to fill with former TCS CEO N Chandrasekaran being elevated to the role of Tata Sons chairman. He was elevated to the role of chief executive in February 2017 after serving as the Chief Financial Officer since 2013.

Now, check out the peers who rank lower than Ambani on the billionaire list, but have a better pay package than him.
Rajesh Gopinathan CEO of Tata Consultancy Services Pay package: Rs 16.03 crore (FY19) Gopinathan had huge shoes to fill with former TCS CEO N Chandrasekaran being elevated to the role of Tata Sons c..
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Pawan Munjal
CMD of Hero MotoCorp
Pay package: Rs 80.41 crore (FY19)

Munjal’s professional commitments go beyond his role at Hero MotoCorp’s helm. He is also on the board of other companies like Hero FinCorp and Hero InvestCorp Private, and a director at the Indian School of Business. An avid golfer, Munjal had said in the past that golf is a great game that teaches a lot about integrity and strategy.
Pawan Munjal CMD of Hero MotoCorp Pay package: Rs 80.41 crore (FY19) Munjal’s professional commitments go beyond his role at Hero MotoCorp’s helm. He is also on the board of other companies like Her..
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Rajiv Bajaj
MD of Bajaj Auto
Pay package: Rs 32.31 crore (FY19)

Apart from the market, Bajaj knows how to strike moves on the yoga mat. In an earlier interview, Bajaj shared that he spends 5.5 hours a week on yoga, of which he dedicates a full hour and 45 minutes to the discipline on Sunday alone. "A posture without a sound position is a monkey on the mat. (Similarly) a brand without a sound position is a commodity in the market," he said at the time.
Rajiv Bajaj MD of Bajaj Auto Pay package: Rs 32.31 crore (FY19) Apart from the market, Bajaj knows how to strike moves on the yoga mat. In an earlier interview, Bajaj shared that he spends 5.5 hours..
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Sunil Mittal
Chairman of Bharti Airtel
Pay package: Rs 31 crore (FY19)

According to reports, Mittal’s remuneration for FY 2018-19 “was Rs21.19 crore more than the ceiling of 11% of the company's net profit.” At the AGM held on August 14 in Delhi, shareholders voted in majority, approving a proposal for Mittal to retain the “excess” remuneration.
Sunil Mittal Chairman of Bharti Airtel Pay package: Rs 31 crore (FY19) According to reports, Mittal’s remuneration for FY 2018-19 “was Rs21.19 crore more than the ceiling of 11% of the company's net..
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