Cognizant CEO’s 2025 realised pay increases 30% to $10.7 million

US Securities and Exchange Commission.

His SEC-reported salary for 2025 was $21.5 million. The realised compensation was lower because a substantial portion of his performance-based stock awards will vest only in future years.

The IT services company’s compensation committee in February 2025 had set his target pay for the year at $19 million, 18% higher compared with $16.1 million in 2024.

Kumar joined the New Jersey-headquartered company in January 2023 after leaving Infosys.

“The compensation committee’s decision in setting Mr Kumar’s 2025 target direct compensation reflects strong performance, including deepened client connections, strengthened execution muscle, cultural progress and leadership alignment with long-term shareholder interests,” Cognizant said in its proxy filing with the SEC.

Kumar’s realised pay for last year consisted of a base salary of $1.3 million, annual cash incentive pay-out of $4.39 million, or 169% of target, and restricted stock awards worth about $4.99 million. Performance stock units had zero contribution to the realised pay in 2025 because they remain subject to future vesting conditions.

According to the company, the global median salary for its employees was $45,138. The CEO-to-median pay ratio was 477:1 based on the CEO’s $21.5 million remuneration. The median US employee made $140,739, which corresponds to a 153:1 ratio.

Cost-of-living adjustments based on Numbeo’s 2025 indexes are included in these data. Barring these changes, the worldwide median employee would have been an Indian worker making $14,136 a year, raising the CEO-employee pay ratio to 1,523:1.

Cognizant said the compensation increase was driven by stronger business performance under Kumar. In 2025, the company crossed $21 billion in revenue, growing 7%, while also expanding operating margins. Trailing 12-month bookings rose 5%, while the total contract value of large deals worth more than $100 million increased nearly 50% over 2024.

The company also highlighted a lower employee attrition rate and its AI push. Voluntary attrition fell to 13.9% at the end of 2025 from 15.9% a year earlier, while more than 340,000 employees completed AI training over the last two-and-a-half years.