Global Indians enjoy their place in the sun with million-dollar packages

The salary of Ivan Menezes, the newly appointed Indian-origin CEO of Diageo Plc, has just nudged past PepsiCo chief Indra Nooyi’s.

But at least three global Indian tech executives earn at least twice as much as Menezes.

A quick survey by ET found at least 17 global Indian executives earning more the $4 million a year.

In contrast, TCS CEO N Chandrasekaran, India’s best paid professional CEO, earns less than $ 2 million. “The real difference is in the stock-based options they ( global CEO’s) get.

That’s where the earnings multiplies manifold,” says Anandorup Ghose, solution lead – executive compensation, Aon Hewitt.

“2276 bankers earn more than €1 million in the UK alone. Just 125 CEOs in listed companies in India earn that much,” says K Sudarshan, managing partner, EMA Partners International. “But the gap between compensation of Indian CEOs and American CEOs has narrowed.”

And, even though dozens of Indian-origin CEOs have risen to crucial roles in global companies, only a dozen feature among America’s 500 highest paid CEOs. The 100 highest paid American CEOs all earn over $20 million; only three Indians make this list.