Cognizant’s ex-CEO made $191 million in 12 years

BENAGALURU: Francisco D’Souza, who stepped down as Cognizant CEO earlier this year, realised $191.4 million in total compensation during his tenure as CEO from 2007, a majority of which came in the form of stocks and options, as per a blogpost by US compensation research firm Equilar.

The figure is substantially more than the $104.3 million reported in the summary compensation table of Cognizant’s annual proxy statements for D’Souza. The difference arises mainly because of the good performance of the stock during the period.

Disclosed equity values are made as of the grant date, while the realised values are made as of the company’s most recent fiscal year end (the end of the evaluation period). So, when the stocks previously granted vest, and if the stock value is higher at that point, the realised pay rises.