Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar S saw his annual compensation increase 28% to $21.5 million in 2025, according to the company’s proxy filing with US regulators.
Meanwhile, CFO Jatin Dalal witnessed a 30% decline in compensation to $7.08 million.
Kumar’s pay package included $1.3 million in salary, $15.8 million in stock awards, and $4.4 million in non-equity incentive compensation. Unlike the previous year, he did not receive a bonus.
However, his realised compensation stood at $10.7 million, lower than his target compensation of $19 million, mainly due to performance linked stock units that are yet to vest.
Dalal, who previously worked at Wipro, earned a salary of $825,000, along with $4.84 million in stock awards and $1.39 million in incentive compensation. His realised compensation was $6.63 million, slightly above his $6 million target.
Other top paid executives at Cognizant include John Kim, Surya Gummadi, and Ganesh Ayyar.
Under Kumar’s leadership, Cognizant is focusing on large deals worth $100 million and above as part of its turnaround strategy to strengthen its position among top global IT services firms.
The company reported a CEO-to-median employee pay ratio of 477:1, up from 378:1 a year earlier. The median employee salary increased to $45,138.
Cognizant had a workforce of 351,600 employees as of December 31, 2025, including 256,900 in India and 41,600 in North America.
Kumar also highlighted the growing AI investment gap, noting that enterprises are investing heavily in AI infrastructure but are yet to fully realise financial returns. The company aims to bridge this gap through AI-driven solutions and enterprise transformation.
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