This IIT-IIM alumnus emerges as Tata Group's ‘highest-paid’ CFO

livemint.com:

Tata Group companies, the salaries of chief executives within the group witnessed a rise of 16 to 60 percent during the previous fiscal year. Mint could not independently confirm the development. As per media reports, the pay of chief financial officers (CFOs) within the group also experienced an increase ranging from 6 to 35 percent.

In the fiscal year 2023, the highest-paid Chief Financial Officer (CFO) within the Tata Group is not from CS or Tata Steel. Pathamadai Balachandran Balaji, who assumed the role of CFO at Tata Motors in 2017, has emerged as the highest-earning CFO within the Tata Group for FY23. Prior to his tenure at Tata Motors, Balaji served as the CFO of Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL).

He took over the position from C. Ramakrishnan. Pathamadai Balachandran Balaji's annual remuneration witnessed a 21 percent increase from FY22, bringing his total earnings in FY23 to ₹16.73 crore.

This notable raise made him the highest-paid employee at Tata Motors as well as the highest-paid CFO within the Tata Group. In the previous fiscal year, FY21-22, Balaji's pay package amounted to ₹12.73 crore. In FY23, his pay package included various components such as a basic salary of ₹2.93 crore, benefits, perquisites, and allowances totaling ₹4.94 crore, a commission, bonus, and performance-linked incentive of ₹5 crore, retirement benefits of ₹36 lakh, and stock options/sweat equity worth ₹3.4 crore.