Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s compensation package soars to ₹665 crore, but here’s WHY he asked for cut in cash salary…

Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella saw his compensation package this year soar 63 per cent to ₹665 crore ($79.106 million), according to a Hindustan Times report citing the company's filing with the US SEC. However, the document showed that the executive asked for his salary's cash component to be reduced. We take a look.

The filing dated October 24 showed that Nadella scored a $79,106,183 pay package in 2024 — his highest ever and a 63 per cent hike from 2023, it added.

The filing broke down the salary components, stating that stock awards worth $71,236,392 made up the majority of the salary package, $5.2 million came from 'Non-equity Incentive Plan' and $169,791 through ‘All Other Compensation’, the report said.

Why Take Salary Cut?

Further, it stated that Nadella asked for his cash part to be reduced from $10 million to $2.5 million. Why? According to the report, he took “personal accountability” for the company's “cybersecurity challenges”. These challenges include the worldwide 'Blue Screen of Death' technical glitch from Crowdstrike that halted services for clients in July 2024, and warnings in April 2024 from the US Department of Homeland Security about breaches from China and Russia.

The cash cut from Nadella salary will be used to pad up the company's cybersecurity measures instead and Microsoft took steps to "completely overhaul" its cybersecurity, the report added.

Why The Hefty Pay Package?

Microsoft hailed Nadella for a host of achievements at the helm of the company, including driving bonuses up to 142.16 per cent, with an upper limit of 200 per cent.

It noted his push for innovation across the CoPilot, Copilot+PCs, and Copilot projects, his contribution towards targetting artificial intelligence (AI) development and cloud resources for customer solution, and adapting the organisation amid cybersecurity challenges. It also noted his success with the gaming company Activision Blizzard, which Microsoft acquired for $68.7 billion in 2022.